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Wind Tubes for Science Night

A couple weeks ago we had Science Night at Willow Glen Elementary, and I decided to build a couple of wind tubes.

My daughters will always spend at least 15 minutes playing with this type of exhibit at science museums – trying to see what will and won’t float. Most recently we played at this exhibit at CuriOdyssey in San Mateo.

Wind Tube Instructions Reference

Here are some of the resources I found online when doing research:

Wind Tube Materials

Scrap Wood (IKEA twin bed slats)

DuraLar .010" Sheeting 40" x 12 Foot Roll

https://www.jerrysartarama.com/grafix-dura-lar-pads-and-rolls-0063473000000

Floor fan that will tilt perpendicular to the ground

Lasko Cyclone 20 in. 3-Speed Air Circulator Floor Fan

It seems fan models change frequently as I couldn't find any of the fans mentioned by other wind tube instructions online. Some of the reviews for this one mentioned a strong column of air, but likely any sufficiently strong fan is fine.

Wood Embroidery Hoop 14"

https://123stitch.com/item/Cousin-14-Natural-Wood-Hoop/CSN-00939

3M VHB Tape

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BU7038A

Wind Toys

We made some toys from tape, balls, and paper and tried a few things from the recycling bin, but these purchased toys were popular at Science Night.

Parachute Toys

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DBR6N77M

Rainbow Dance Scarves

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Y99ZX4F

Construction

I loosely followed the instructions from Wind Tube Build Video with CuriOdyssey Director of Exhibits, Eric except I used the 40” by 12’ DuraLar sheet instead of using packing tape to make a large sheet out of cake collar acetate. It’s more expensive, but enough material to build 2 wind tubes with stronger, simpler construction which made sense for science night. The only fans I could find on short notice were a bit larger than the fan in that video, so I sat my tube on supports on top of the fan similar to the Inventors of Tomorrow instructions.

Tubes

I rolled out enough DuraLar to wrap around a 14” diameter hoop with about 4” overlap. Presumably could have used math to determine this would be 44” + 4” of overlap and used a ruler, but I just marked a line and cut with scissors.

I found the key to this step was generously using blue masking tape to hold things in place while I got the 3 embroidery hoops in place and tightened. Some instructions skip a center hoop, but this gave me additional rigidity and an attachment point for the supports.

Legs

I had some scrap wood (IKEA twin bed slats) and a table saw, so that’s what I used for construction.

The slats started at 2¾” x ¾” x 30”

First I cut into 2 pieces lengthwise, so they were roughly 1⅓” x ¾” x 30”

Then I set the table saw blade low and created notches at 5” and 25” to line up with the embroidery hoop supports.

Finally I added double sided tape in the groove for the hoop and a larger patch below to stick to the side of the tube itself.

For final setup I added two blocks under the fan so that it couldn’t tip forwards or backwards. I also drilled holes near the bottom of the legs so I could use pipe cleaners to attach the tubes to the fans.

Wrapping Up

This is a pretty easy project to put together, and not too expensive if you

My total cost was around $200 for two wind tubes. Hopefully they last a while!

I’d guess around 100 kids came by and played with the wind tubes at Science Night and there were few super fans that spent nearly the entire 2 hour event there. They didn’t suffer any wear and tear even with a few aggressive participants trying to load every scarf in at once!