Appropriate grades or age groups:
Preschool and Younger
Elementary School

Estimated time to complete activity:
An hour or more

Materials needed (if applicable):
Carboard carpet tube (usually 3"-4" in diameter)
Corrugated cardboard
Packing or masking tape (about 2" wide)
Glue
Power drill or awl--ADULT ASSISTANCE REQUIRED
Flat head spiral nails (about 2"-3" long)
Hammer
Scissors
Paints & paintbrushes
Water
Objects found in nature for decorating
Rice, corn kernels, pebbles, sunflower seeds, etc. for noisemaking

Description of Earth Day activity:
My kids an I had a blast with this activity. Basically, rainsticks are cardboard tubes with nails hammered into them to create a maze of nails inside the tube, and then pebbles, corn kernels, seeds etc. are dropped into the tube to create the "raindrop" noise. Seal the ends, and all that's left to do is to decorate it. And decorating it is the best part! We took a hike into the woods, which was a nice opportunity for me to spend some quiet time (or quieter time) with my kids and for them to learn about nature. Link to Rainsticks from Recyclables to find out more about making your own rainstick.