The 4-in-1 Coffee Can

Materials:

Empty Coffee Can (make sure it is washed and has no sharp edges where the top was taken off)

Pencil

Rice or Beans (small amount)

Directions:

Put some rice or beans into the coffee can.

#1 - Shaker

Shake the can back and forth or up and down or all around. It's a maraca! Actually, just about every human culture has created shakers, mostly from those cool hollow vegetables called gourds (a pumpkin is a gourd). Try putting different stuff into the can, or using different containers. What happens to the sound?

#2 - Drum

Of course, it's also a drum. Take the pencil and hit the plastic top. The plastic part vibrates to make an instrument called a membranophone - or drums.

#3 - Metal Drum

Turn the can upside down and it becomes a metal drum. Just bang on it with your pencil. Try different sides of the pencil - wood or eraser.

#4 - Scraper