DIY Wind Chime and Acoustic Experiment
Construct a functional wind chime using recycled household items (keys, silverware, metal pipes, glass bottles). Test different materials to understand how size, weight, and material affect acoustic pitch.
- Takes
- 1 hr
- Your setup
- 15 min prep
- Ages
- Ages 5–12
- Mess
- Some mess
- Cost
- $
- Where
- Indoors
How to do it
- 1Gather materials. Predict which items will produce the highest and lowest tones.
- 2Adults drill holes in the materials/mounting base. Safety check all edges.
- 3Participants cut strings to varied lengths and tie the materials securely to the base. Note: String length affects tempo, material density affects pitch.
- 4Hang the chime outside in a breezy area.
- 5Listen and discuss whether the initial acoustic predictions were correct.
What they're practising
- Acoustics Principles
- Resourcefulness
- Craftsmanship
- Sound Differentiation