Musical Instrument: STEM At Home Activity

Originally Posted: April 30, 2020
Updated: April 2024

STEM Space At Home Video Challenge

STEM Space At Home is a video series led by an engineer using materials you can find at home. The videos are intended to support elementary and middle school students through fun engineering design challenges with a real-world connection. Find all episodes here.

How to participate:

1. Download the free activity guide found in The STEM Space. The file can be printed or used with Google Slides.

2. Watch the video posted below for science content, engineering design tips, and an in-depth explanation by a real engineer!

3. Post your design using #𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗠𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 and TAG US on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter! We will share our favorites!

STEM Space At-Home is brought to you by “New Worlds Await You”, a program of the WEX Foundation sponsored by NASA in cooperation with Vivify STEM and Communities In Schools of San Antonio.

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Musical Instrument STEM Challenge

Mission: Design a musical instrument and control the loudness and frequency of the sound!

Materials needed: Watch the video for ideas of materials to use around the house.

• Ideas for the instrument base: cereal box, tissue box, cups, empty jar or can, and toilet paper rolls.

• Ideas for making sound: rubber bands, bottle caps, beans, and paper.

Before starting the video, download the activity guide found in The STEM Space library.

Classroom Resources

Want to implement this activity in your STEM classroom? Click below to download our lesson plan with classroom and distance learning versions! Includes:

• Detailed teachers guide with links to resources

• Digital or printed student handouts to guide them through the engineering design process

• Instructional video led by an engineer

• Editable Google Slides STEM journal for distance learning

• Versions for use in flipgrid and seesaw

• STEM Career Connection on Acoustic Engineering

• Student recording sheet for each step of the process

Additional Resources:

• Check out these awesome STEM career links:

  • What does a sound engineer do? 

  • Careers in Acoustics

  • Acoustics Research

  • How to Get into Acoustics

• Want to learn more about sound?

  • What is sound?

  • What are Decibels?

  • Visualization of vibrations in a guitar

  • Create beats using sounds from the everyday world

• Want more ideas on creating instruments? Check out these tutorials for inspiration:

  • Teach Engineering: Simple Instruments (Includes lesson plans)

  • Spinning Noise Maker

  • Popsicle Stick Harmonica

  • Rubber Band Guitar

Good luck engineers! We can’t wait to see and hear your musical instruments! Don’t forget to post your design using #𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗠𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 and tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!