Submitted by Suzanne Sweeten, Oklahoma

Idea posted November 22, 2005

I introduced instrument families with an emphasis on the string family to my first graders this week. To give them a hands-on experience we made "Stringles" - a lunch-sized Pringle container with rubber bands of three different widths stretched around the container. Each rubber band has a different pitch based on the width, and it is easy to see the vibration when the rubber band is plucked. My kids loved this activity, but watch out for flying rubber bands! Warn the class to be careful when assembling and playing.