DRINKING STRAWS

They call ‘em straws because before there was plastic people drank from real straw (the hollow pieces of dried grass that horses eat). When I was a kid, drinking straws were made out of paper. They would get all gooey and gummy and you’d have to tear off the squished part so you could drink out of them. By the end of your drink, the straw almost always got too short to use. You can learn a lot about science, and suction, by fooling around with straws.

Cut a bunch of straws into different lengths, tape ‘em together, and blow gently -- you’ve just made a musical instrument called a pan flute.