Create your own wind chimes to dance in the Saskatchewan wind.

Activity Type:

Craft

Age:

3 to 7 years old

What You Need:

Paper cup or a single egg carton cup

Pipe cleaner, twist ties, or kitchen twine
Strings
Big beads
Small bells
Metal washer, metal fork, or a metal button
Straws
Scissors
Hole punch
Paint
Paintbrushes
Markers
Stickers, glitter, or other craft supplies you have at home

Preparation:

Cut 4 strings to a length of 30.5 cm each (about the length of a ruler).
Cut 1 string a little longer than the rest, about 38 cm in length.
Cut straws into 2.5 cm lengths. These will act as long beads.

What You Do:

Using the hole punch create 4 holes evenly spaced around the paper cup. Your holes should be just below the rim of the cup.
Decorate your cup with paint, markers, glitter, or other craft supplies you have at home.
Tie a small bell to the bottom of each of the 4 strings cut to 30.5 cm size.
Thread the cut straws and beads onto each string. Be sure to leave about 2 inches at the top of the string to tie on the strings to the paper cup later.
Tie one string of beads and straws to a hole in the paper cup. Repeat until all four beaded strings are attached to the paper cup.
Using a pencil carefully poke a hole in the bottom of your cup.
Take a pipe cleaner and thread it through the hole you just made with the pencil, leaving enough on the outside to make a loop.
Twist the end of your pipe cleaner into a loop. This will be how you hang your wind chime. (This loop should be on the outside of your cup).
With the other end of the pipe cleaner, make a second loop. This loop should be inside the cup.
Attach your longer piece of string to the loop inside the cup.
Attach the metal washer, fork, or metal button to the string you just tied to the pipe cleaner loop inside the cup. Try to tie it to be the same length as where the bells are so when you hang your wind chime the metal and bells clang together.
Hang your wind chime outside where it will blow in the breeze.

Explanation:

The first wind chimes were used by farmers to scare away birds and animals from their fields.

The wind chime has been around for almost 5000 years. In Indonesia, wind chimes were found to be used by farmers to ward off animals from their crops. Around 1100 BC, the Chinese started to cast bells and the wind chime began to resemble the ones we see today.

The western world adopted wind chimes in the 1800’s when Asian art and design started to influence Europe and North America.

Today’s wind chimes are used for decorative purposes