How to Make a Telephone Using Solo Cups

Two plastic cups and string are about all you need to create a telephone set.

If you have a bunch of kids to babysit, or a room full of students eager to learn and have fun, making a string telephone using Solo cups is an activity that can involve everyone and teach basic science as well. The project requires only a few items, and after just a small amount of work, the children will have a cup telephone set from which they can get hours of enjoyment.

Things You'll Need

• Two Solo drinking cups
• Push pin
• Two paper clips
• Piece of string, about 5 feet long

Instructions

1. Poke a small hole in the bottom of each cup with the push pin. Do not make the hole too large, or the string telephone will not work properly.

2. Thread one end of the string through the hole in the bottom of one cup. Tie that end of the string to a paper clip. This prevents the string from falling out. Repeat this process with the other end of the string and the other cup.

3. Give each cup to a child and have them stretch the string as tight as possible. Each child should be able to talk and listen to the other through vibrations of the string into the cup telephone.

Tips & Warnings

• Using different types of string can change the outcome of the string telephone. Using fishing wire, for instance, increases vibrations, but yarn can yield higher sound quality.

• Do not allow very young children to play with the push pin.

References

• String telephone