3rd Grade Distance Learning - Week 2

Part 3 - Build the Mallets and Strike Plates
Take out your 4 wooden beads and and the 4, 4" sections of dowels. Place 1 bead on the end of each dowel to form a little mallet. If loose, add a tiny dot of hot glue.

Using the scraps of chipboard left over from your box build, cut out 4 rectangles that measure 2.5"x.75" and 4 that measure 1"x.75".

​Hot glue one larger chipboard section to the the dowel of each mallet. You want to glue the chipboard so that the the 3" section of mallet that includes the bead is uncovered and the last inch is covered by the chip board. Then glue one of the smaller chipboard pieces to the other side of the dowel so that the end of the dowel in sandwiched in chipboard.

​Finally, glue one of the wooden spools to the small piece of chipboard.

Video Instructions for this portion below.

Now you need to assembly the mallets all together. Thread the spools along a skewer. Line them up against the xylophone and try to position 1 mallet over the center of each key. You may need to add some plastic beads to get the spacing correct. Then put one bead on each end.

Video directions for this portion below.

Part 4 - Assemble Your Xylophone Music Box
Make sure you have all your important parts: your xylophone, box, drum, and mallet strip. You will also need a tongue depressor, 2 medium binder clips, cork, and some beads. 

The first thing you will need to do is level out your xylophone. Use the tongue depressor to make a leg for the side of the xylophone that was sawed off.

Nestle the xylophone in the box and secure with a cork or two on the sawed off end to prevent the xylophone from jiggling around. The xylophone should be on the portion of the box that is bigger, as decided by the side holes. ​

Now take apart the mallet skewer, but be sure to keep the pieces in order. Put the skewer through one of the side holes of the box, thread the mallets and spacer beads back onto the skewer, and then place the other end of the skewer into the opposite hole. Position the mallets over the xylophone keys.

Place the binder clip on each end of the drum dowel. Clip each binder clip to a side of the box as you position the drum over the ends of the mallet strike plates. The drum will hang off the edge of the box slightly. Adjust until the drum, when turned, hits the mallet strike plates and makes music. You may need to slightly adjust the pushpins or the mallets. Once you everything working, secure the mallet skewer with hot glue. You can trim off extra skewer or dowel, just make sure you leave a good section for a handle.
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Video directions for finishing up below.

You now have a working xylophone. You can an add additional decoration or design a handle. 

​Hope these directions were helpful!