Rainsticks

I've been saving the stiff cardboard tubes that our library's clear book cover material come rolled on to make rainsticks. Yesterday seemed like the perfect time to do one with Julien.

We made sure we had all the materials - had to run out for more 2 1/2 inch nails - and were all set. First we marked off one inch increments down the seam of the tube, and Julien hammered nails into our marks:



This is what it looked like from the end:



We taped one end shut with duct tape (what else) making sure not to leave sticky on the inside, and then tried a few different kinds of beans to see what gave the best sound. We tried lentils, black beans, and chickpeas - the chickpeas made the coolest noise.



Taped up the ends, a little more duct tape decoration (after much consideration, camo, turquoise and orange stripes), and there's our rainstick!