How to Make a Sand Hourglass With Plastic Drink Bottles

Children of just about any age can make their own hourglass out of plastic bottles and sand. It is a fun craft that is often used as a science project for elementary-age students. Hourglasses can help children understand the concept of time and how it can be recorded.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• 2 two-liter plastic soda bottles
• 1 bucket of sand
• 1 funnel
• Duct tape
• Flat surface to work on
• Stopwatch

1. Visit your local beach and collect a bucket of sand. You won't need the whole bucket, but it is easier to have leftovers than to end up with not enough sand. If you don't have any beaches near your home you can buy sand at any craft store.

2. Save two 2-liter plastic bottles of soda after you have finished drinking the soda. Clean out the soda bottles with dish soap and water and lay out to dry. You are not going to be able to get the water out of the bottle with a towel so make sure it is completely air-dried before you use it.

3. Take out one of your plastic soda bottles and a funnel. Place the funnel over the soda bottle so that the little end is inside of the soda bottle and the big end is ready for you to pour sand in. Pour the sand into the funnel. You want your bottle to get about 3/4 of the way full before you stop.

4. Stand your empty bottle upside down and place its opening up against the sand bottle's opening. Tape the two bottle tops together with duct tape. You need a strong tape so that the bottles do not get separated and leave you with sand everywhere.

5. Flip your plastic bottles so that the empty one is on the bottom. Start your stopwatch and stop it when all of the sand has transferred bottles. Now you have your base time. Say it took 3 minutes for the sand to empty. Now every time you flip the bottles you know you have 3 minutes.

Tips & Warnings

• Use plastic gallon containters such as milk jugs if you want to experience a longer time in between bottle flips.