Make a Simple Rain Stick

Looking for a calming, creative STEM activity that helps students explore sound and vibration? In this DIY Musical Rain Stick STEM Project, kids become sound engineers as they design their own instruments and investigate how materials and design influence acoustics. Ideal for ages 6–12, this hands-on sound science project supports cross-curricular learning in science, engineering, art, and emotional regulation.

DIY Musical Rain Stick STEM Project
– Explore Sound, Vibration, and Acoustics

Disclaimer: This article may contain commission, paid partnerships, or affiliate links. We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

What is Sound and How Do Vibrations Create It?

Sound is a form of energy that travels in waves to our ears so that we can hear the sound. When we talk, our vocal cords in our throat vibrate and make the different sounds that we hear.

If you stretch a rubber band over a cup and pluck it gently first and then harder, you can see and feel the rubber band vibrating and hear the sound it makes.

How do we hear the sound the rubber band is making?

When the rubber band vibrates, it pushes the waves of energy around, and these waves travel to our ears, and our brain tells us that this is sound.

A whistle, which has a very high sound, creates faster vibrations, and a drum, which has a very low sound, creates slower vibrations.

Teacher Tips and Lesson Planning

In this project, students explore vibration, acoustics, and how materials influence sound. By making a Rain Stick out of simple materials students will demonstrate how sound travels, how different materials affect tone, and how specific engineering principles can be applied in artistic creations. This project has a number of cross-curricular learning objectives. To assist in your lesson planning here are some key bits of information about this project.

STEM Learning Objectives: Science, Engineering & Mindfulness

They will learn STEM concepts such as:

• How vibrations create sound and how sound travels through materials
• How engineering design can be used to refine function and aesthetic
• The effect of materials and design on pitch, tone, and rhythm
• Mindful listening and the calming effects of sensory experiences

Age Suitability and Time

It is suitable for kids between the ages of 6-12 years of age but it can be easily adapted for younger children or children with different abilities.

This project should take approximately 30-60 minutes to complete.

Cross-Curricular Connections

• Science: Explore vibration, energy transfer, sound wave propagation, and material acoustics.
• Engineering: Design a system that creates a desired sound. Test and modify variables like tube length, nail spacing, and filler type.
• Art: Study traditional rain stick designs from Indigenous and global cultures. Decorate sticks using patterns, natural dyes, or symbolic imagery.
• SEL (Social-Emotional Learning): Discuss mindfulness and how sound can affect mood or focus. Use the rain stick during quiet time or transitions.
• Literacy: Have students write rain-inspired poetry or journal their design choices and observations.

DIY Rain Stick Project Video Tutorial

Watch as we make our simple rain stick. If you can’t see the video below due to it being blocked by your system settings, you can catch it over on the STEAM Powered Family YouTube Channel.

How to Make a DIY Rain Stick – STEM Sound Science Activity

Required Materials and Tools

Thick postage tube – about 40-60cm long & about 5cm in diameter
Cardboard (to cut end caps) unless your tubes have caps!
Flat-head nails, long enough to fit into the tube WITHOUT coming out the other side, you can also use toothpicks or trimmed dowels
Glue
Hammer
Pencil
Permanent marker
Awl
Ruler
“Fillers” – beans, corn kernels, rice, tiny pebbles, beads, tiny marbles

Teacher Tip! Use a variety of different cardboard tubes to test the different sound effects. Try kitchen towel tubes, tubes from wrapping paper, toilet roll tubes, or postage tubes, but the thicker and heavier it is, the better. The longer the tube, the longer the sound of the “rain” will last, and the thicker the tube, the deeper the sound of the “rain” will be, and the easier it will be to hammer the nails into it will be too.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Before we get started, a quick safety tip! Adult supervision recommended when using hammers or awls, especially with younger students. Know your kids’ abilities and adapt to ensure everyone is learning safely. I also recommend doing this on a surface that can handle a bit of damage, just in case a nail or hammer hits the table.

All cardboard tubes have a line that goes all the way down in a spiral shape, because of the way they are made. This line will be your guide for the nails.

Place your first marking, 2cm from the edge of the tube, on the spiral line.

Make marks for the nails between 2-3cm apart. I made them 2 cm apart, but found that the marbles did not fall through the nails easily. I should have made them 3cm apart.

Keep making marks down to the bottom of the tube. You may want to use a black permanent marker to highlight these marks for the easy placement of the nails.

Use an awl to start the holes and then hammer in the nails. Make sure your nails do not come out the other side!

Once all the nails are placed, trace the end of the tube onto the thick cardboard and cut two end caps out.

Use glue to stick one of the caps onto the tube. Clean off all the excess glue and put it aside to dry properly.

Test the sound of each of the “fillers”

By doing this, students can choose the sound they want their rain stick to make.

Pro Tip! Small “fillers”, like rice and small beads, will sound like a soft drizzle, and bigger” fillers” like beans or small pebbles will sound like heavy rain.

Pour a small amount of one of the “fillers” into the tube. Put your hand over the open end and slowly tilt the tube the opposite way to get all the material from one end to the other end of the tube.

Have your students listen. Can they hear the “rain”?

Do this for all the different “fillers” then have students decide which filler they prefer for their rain stick. I chose to mix a few “fillers” together because it gave a more natural rain sound.

I did not use the small marbles. With closely spaced nails, the marbles couldn’t fall easily which affected the sound and flow. Your results may be different!

Once students have decided which “filler” they are going to use, have them fill the tube about a quarter of the way and stick on the other end cap. Glue it into place and let it dry.

Now, all that is left is for students to decorate their rain stick to make it uniquely theirs.

How to Use a Rain Stick?

Hold the rain stick straight up and down. Gently and slowly tilt the rain stick to one side until you have turned it completely upside down, and then repeat this step in the opposite direction. This way, you should hear a long and gentle rain sound.

The Science Behind Rain Sticks

How Sound Travels Through a Rain Stick (Vibration & Acoustics Explained)

When you tilt the rain stick from side to side very slowly, the seeds, beans, or beads tumble through the tube and bounce against the nails inside.

Each collision makes tiny vibrations. These vibrations travel through the tube walls and the air until they reach our ears.

How do the different “fillers” affect the tone your rain stick makes?

The heavier “fillers” like the beans and the pebbles make a deeper, louder tone, while lighter “fillers” like the beans or beads make a softer, tinkling sound.

The tube material also changes the tone. The thicker tubes deepen the sound; thinner ones make it lighter.

The “filters” inside the tube, in this case, the nails, depending on their spacing, affect how fast and gently the filling falls. This will change the rhythm and length of the “rainfall.”

What is the relationship between the speed of falling objects and the length of the sound in a rain stick?

The sound lasts as long as it takes for the “fillers” to travel through the rain stick.

If they move fast, the sound is short.

If they move slowly, the sound is long.

It’s just like pouring water out of a bottle: If you tip the bottle straight down, the water rushes out quickly and makes a short sound. If you tip the bottle gently, the water trickles out slowly and makes a long sound.

The Calming Nature of Rain Sticks in a Classroom

The sound of the falling materials copies the sound of rainfall, which many people find soothing and meditative.

In a classroom, children can use their rain sticks as a calming tool when they feel anxious or overstimulated.

Group play creates a relaxing “rainstorm” soundscape that helps with teamwork and listening skills.
The project shows kids how sound isn’t just noise—it can also support emotional well-being.

STEAM Extension Ideas

Using the rain sticks in a musical instrument lesson: Divide the class into groups and give each group a different “filler” to fill their tubes with. Let the children come up with a short sound piece, incorporating all the different groups of sounds made by the different groups of rain sticks, or incorporate the rain stick into a musical piece using other musical instruments.

Using the rain sticks in an art lesson: Let the children research the rain stick art of indigenous and global cultures’ rain sticks. This is a fantastic way to tie into social studies and history lessons.

Using the rain sticks in a language lesson: Let the children, in their groups, write a short story or a poem to accompany the rain stick.

Using the rain stick at the specific times of the day as a calming auditory tool: Use the rain stick at the beginning or end of the day, after recess, or after a PE lesson to calm them down.

Musical Rain Stick Project FAQ