Camp Craft: Making a Tin Can Phone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What you need:

-          Two clean, dry tin cans

-          Hammer

-          Nail

-          Long piece of string (about 20 feet)

You will need an adult assistant to help you with this craft

What you do:

1. Turn the cans upside down (so that the open end is facing down).

2. Hammer nail into the bottom of a can to create a hole in the centre. Repeat with the other can.

3. Thread one end of string through the hole and make a knot large enough to prevent the string from pulling through. Repeat with the other can.

4. Now, standing outside in an area with plenty of room, have your friend take one can and you take the other and walk away from each other until the string is stretched tight.

5. When you talk into the can, the vibrations of your voice should travel down the string to the other end, so that you and your friend can hear each other speaking from twenty feet away.

This is a fun way to communicate with your friend across a distance. No texting capabilities though!

34 Responses to Camp Craft: Making a Tin Can Phone

  1. HI says:

    Will It work with thread???

  2. flowerdaisy13579 says:

    WOW…….seems interesting….I have always wanted to make one of those. But I never did. I do really wanna do it, but i really don’t think that i have all of the supplies that r needed…so i guess i won’t be making that any time soon!
    flowerdaisy out!

  3. $coolstar$ says:

    i know it works but it is just so dumb

    • Moonstar says:

      Yah, they do actually work and they are so cool! Since I don’t have a phone, me and some of my friends do this with super, super long string! And we do it from like a mile away from each other! We hang it from our win dows and rope it through trees where it will still work from so far away. It doesn’t work as well if you were like 20 ft. away from the other person, but you can still here the other person! -Moonstar◙◙◙
      P.S. Anberlin, thanks for saying I am funny! I so agree, lol!

      • flowerdaisy13579 says:

        DOES THAT REALLY WORK??? WOW!!!! That is really surprising! I never new that they worked that well! Now i think I might try to make them! Thanks for the info!
        Flowerdaisy out!

  4. elephant_in_pajamas says:

    that’s cool hey do they actually work ???????? ☺E_I_P☻

  5. MDIChickadee says:

    My mom suggested we cover the open end of the tin can with duct tape to cover any sharp edges left from where the can lid was removed. My dad suggested we use a light-weight string – perhaps sewing thread. He said the larger the string, the more difficult it would be to get the string to work.

  6. Monopoly Man says:

    Seriously?! Who doesn’t know how to make tin can phones?!

  7. WebkinzMember says:

    How does the sound travel through the string if the string isn’t hollow?

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