Today, I wanted to assure you that we’re not the only ones who share this weird obsession. The folks at NASA who run the Hubble Space Telescope have in fact provided instructions for making your very own PVC model of the famous orbiting spyglass. It requires a few pipes of various sizes, some end caps, and a few craft supplies, and looks like a great rainy-day project to do with your older kids. It requires some drilling and sawing, and thus an adult presence, but there are also various bits to glue and tape that would be suitable for younger folks. Have fun!

Materials:

• About 2′ of 1 1/4″ PVC pipe (Shorten for a small child or lengthen for a taller one.)
• A dozen screws—this is the tricky part:
  #6 1″ round (pan) head wood screws with threads all the way up to the head (Round, not flat, head is necessary to avoid sharp edges. Full threading is needed because it is the top threads that will grip the pipe.) These can be hard to find. You may need to ask the staff at your hardware store.
• Two 1 1/4″ PVC endcaps
• Dried black beans

Tools needed:

• Drill
• Screwdriver
• Saw (if pipe isn’t already cut)
• Rubber mallet (optional; regular hammer will also do)

Instructions:

• Take the pipe and drill small holes (about 1/32″) in a row every 4 1/2″ or so.
• Turn the pipe a quarter turn and drill holes about halfway between the first set of holes. This way, you will be able to place a second row of screws at 90 degrees to the first row. (For the rainstick to have the best sound, no bean should travel the length of the pipe without hitting one (or preferably more) of the screws. Two rows, one perpendicular to the other, should maximize the probability that the bean will hit something on the way down.)
• Drill four 1/8″ holes in one of the endcaps. (See photo.) This makes for a much better sound.
• Tap one of the endcaps on. You may need a rubber mallet—or gently use a regular hammer, with a towel over the endcap.
• Toss in a handful or two of the dried black beans, and put on the second endcap.
• Experiment and add or subtract beans as desired.

Make a few in different sizes—one for each member of your family. Decorate them with stickers or (if you have older kids) permanent markers. Suitable for home use, school-play sound effects, or Pride parades. Have fun!

When you whack the ends of the pipes with a rubber paddle (we use a flip-flop with the straps cut off), they make a pitched “doink” sound that entertains kids and adults alike. See video for a demo.

The project is slightly more complicated than the PVC Pipes Construction set, but should pose no problem to those with basic saw, drill, and hammer skills. You could do a full eight pipes and adjust the lengths to form a full octave; we went with the more manageable (and cheaper) five pipes in simple one-foot intervals. For just over $25, it’s an unusual item that could amuse kids at birthday parties and all year round. Make it educational and point out the correlation between pipe length and pitch. Read on to find out how it’s done.

Materials:

• Two 10′ lengths of 2″ PVC pipe, Schedule 40. (See note below about Schedule 40 pipes.) (2 x $5= $10)
• Two 8′ 2″x4″‘s (2 x $2.20 = $4.40)
• Ten 2″ copper hangers for 2″ PVC pipe (10 x $0.58 = $5.80)
• Twenty #8 1″ wood screws ($1)
• Eight 2″ screws or nails (for the wooden frame) ($1)
• Five 2″ elbow fittings (90 degrees) (5 x $0.88 = $4.40). Make sure they’re not threaded.
• One standard beach flip-flop (free if you already have an old one; $2 if you don’t)

Total cost = $26.60 (retail, Home Depot), plus the flip-flop if you need to buy one.

Tools needed:

• Saw
• File or rasp sandpaper
• Screwdriver
• Drill
• Right angle (useful, but not necessary)
• Mitre box and clamps or assistant to hold pipes while you cut

Instructions:
Click images to enlarge.

• Cut the first 10′ piece into 4′ and 6′ sections. Cut the second 10′ pipe into 2′, 3′, and 5′ sections. You should now have five pipes: in 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6′ lengths.
• Start at the left end of a 2″x4″. Leaving 3″ at the end, drill holes for the bracket of the first pipe. Fasten one end of the 6′ pipe under the bracket. (This means the longest pipe, and lowest note, will be to the left of the player, as on a piano.)
• Drill holes for the bracket of the second pipe so there will be 5″ between the centers of the two pipes. This will leave about a 2 1/2″ gap between the pipes. (Our son tested this, so the spacing is roughly calibrated for a four-year-old’s hand/eye coordination.) Fasten the second pipe and repeat until all pipes are attached.
• Leave 3″ wood at the end for the frame. Saw the board off. This makes the wood about 30″ long—the width of the frame.
• Cut an equal length board from a 2″x4″, mark the screw placements from the first, and copy them onto the second. Drill holes at your marks.
• Place the second board parallel to the first, less than 2′ away, so it supports the far end of the of the shortest pipe. Screw down the brackets on the second board to secure the pipes.
• Measure and cut two more boards so they connect the two boards supporting the pipes. These boards will complete the frame. You can use a right-angle to check that the corners are perpendicular before you start fastening.
• Screw or nail together the boards, using two fasteners for each corner.
• Tap the elbows onto the pipe ends. You could use PVC cement to affix them, but that’s probably overkill.
• File or sand down the exposed end of the pipes and the cut edges of the wood, so the kids don’t get scrapes or splinters.
• Cut the straps off a flip-flop and play! (It seems to work best if you strike with the smooth top side of the flip-flop. You can use an X-Acto knife or box cutter to shape one end into a handle, if you like.)

Our resident engineer comments:

A note about schedule 40 PVC: The “Schedule 40″ refers to a building code that permits it to be used in homes. Sewerage pipes are Schedule 20—allegedly thinner, but I never actually found any to test, as Home Depot doesn’t carry them. The thickness of the pipe walls changes the resonance of the pipes. The 6′ length gives a satisfying “woong”, but the 2′ length is pretty close to a “thud”. The smaller diameter pipes we tried also went “thud”. But you might be able to use smaller diameter pipes if you can find Schedule 20 material. Also see if you can find ABS pipes—they may sound different.

As for the smaller diameter pipes that went “thud,” we found a different use for them, but that is a story for another post. Hint: It’s another musical instrument.

Stay tuned for more PVC madness from the house of Mombian . . . .

(Read the rest of the series.)

Just be warned you may have everything in your house measured for alignment once your young one gets started.

(One in an ongoing series.)

Luckily, small plastic toolboxes can be had for around $5 or $6 at the hardware store. No, they don’t come pre-decorated with a Bob the Builder motif, but that’s why God made stickers. Your young builder may also groove on having a “real” one rather than a kiddie version. (Kids can be spookily aware of such things. From about a year old, my son was able to tell the real remote from the defunct one we left for him to use.)

Buy a few and use one for tools, one for crayons, and one for lunch. Nothing says “I’m a lesbian mom” like opening up a toolbox to pull out your PB & J’s at the playground.

• Go camping—even if it’s just under a sheet-covered kitchen table.
• Dance. My son’s music teacher has a basket of lights she hands out during the soft songs. The children love shining them on the walls of the darkened room in time to the music.
• Make shadows. Lay the flashlight on a table, pointed at a blank wall. Use this free copy of a charming 19th-century book, Hand Shadows to be Thrown upon a Wall, to guide you (though the classic two-fingered “bunny ears” may be enough to amuse most toddlers).
• Soothe fears. Sometimes the comfort of a small light is enough to scare away ghosts.
• Cover the end of the flashlight with red cellophane or an uninflated red balloon to go stargazing. The red light won’t ruin your night vision.
• Layer different colored balloons over the flashlight end to teach your child about color mixing.
• For older kids in groups, try any one of the flashlight games from this English scout site.

Read the rest of this series.

Ah, yes, the perpetual fascination with water. That coincides nicely with my own hardware-store idea for the week, a plastic squeegee. It’s a great bathtub toy, especially with a little extra shampoo or bubble bath in the mix. Besides, “squeegee” has to be on the “top ten most fun words to hear a toddler say” list.

Older kids may want to attempt craft projects themselves with the sticky stuff. The Duck Tape Club offers a variety of ideas, including a duct tape book cover, lunch bag, wallet, picture frame, bookmark, bracelet, purse, glasses case, and even flip flops. (They also sponsor a scholarship contest for the couple (genders happily unspecified) that creates and wears the best prom wear out of duct tape.) Instructables shows you how to make a multipurpose duct tape checkers/chess/backgammon board. (Thanks to MAKE for the link.) For those of you who really want to go all out, you’ll be pleased to discover that Duck brand duct tape now comes in 20 different shades.

Helpful hints: Use the sharpest scissors you own. If you’re doing the project yourself, an X-Acto knife or box cutter may be easier. (Kids should stick with scissors for safety.) Hold the tape taut when you cut it—an extra pair of hands can be useful here.

This first installment will show you how to create a cheap but fun construction set out of PVC pipes. It’s a wonderful toy because it can turn into anything your child can imagine. My partner made one for our son as a holiday gift, and he builds everything from musical instruments (think Blue Man Group) to spaceship controls. (The usual cautions about small children and stick-like objects apply.)

You’ll need:

• A 10′ length of 3/4″ PVC pipe. Cost: About $2.00.
• PVC connectors for 3/4″ pipe: an assortment of straight connectors, elbows, and Ts. Get at least one connector for every length of pipe cut. (See first step below.) Cost: About $0.25 each.
• A mitre box and mitre saw (backsaw). (You could also use a bench vise and saw.)
• Tape measure or ruler.
• Medium sandpaper.
• (Optional) Several colors of electrical tape.

Here’s what to do:

• Determine the lengths of pipe you want. It works best if you have several groups of pipes, each of the same length. Try four 12″ pipes, six 8″ pipes, and six 4″ pipes.
• Measure the first length and mark with a piece of tape, a small scratch, or a permanent marker.
• Secure pipe in mitre box.
• Cut the length.
• Cut the remaining pipes of the first length. (You can mark the pipe, or just use the first cut piece as a guide.) Measure the next length and repeat until all the pipe is cut.
• Sand ends of pipe to remove rough edges.
• Optionally, put bands of electrical tape around each pipe, using a different color for each length.