For the past 2 weeks Year have been working extremely hard to design, create and evaluate a rain stick!
In our Topic lessons this term, we learn all about rain in the water cycle. We also considered how important rain is to our daily lives. It is essential for our survival by nourishing plants, but it can be dangerous too. Rain can cause flooding and damage buildings.
Fortunately we have the scientific knowledge and technology to understand what causes rain, as well as when it might be forecast!
In the past different cultures in Africa and South America believed rain was controlled by their Gods. Rain was so important to their daily life, so they created instruments, called rain sticks, and dance to try to encourage the Gods to make it rain. Some tribes even tried to pierce clouds using arrows to get heavier rain!
We learnt that rain sticks were traditionally made using cactus and bamboo, with small pebbles to create a soft trickle. We used recyclable materials such as paper and cardboard, and rice to make ours!
We decorated our rain sticks using paints, tape, and feathers and drew some aquatic designs!
We hope you enjoy seeing pictures of all the fun we had making these special musical instruments 🙂
Wow ! They all look really great !