FACT: In 1999, Natalia Toro at age 14, won top honors in the first Intel Science search.
Smart Girls
Chilean Rainsticks
Legend has it that the Diaguita tribes of South America invented
rainsticks to invoke the rain
spirits during ceremonial rituals. The Diaguita, who lived in
the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, badly needed rain since
this area is one of the driest regions in the world.
Click
on each of the 3 rainsticks to hear their different sounds.
How
is this rain-like sound created? Rainsticks are traditionally made
from dead cactus tubes. The cactus needles are hammered into the tubes
which are filled with pebbles or hard seeds and sealed shut on both
ends. When the rainsticks are turned upside down, the small pebbles
trickle through the cactus thorns- this gentle cascading sounds like
the patter of falling rain.
To
find out how to make your own rainstick, click here.
