Christmas Special: How to make a whistle

As it’s the season of celebration there will be no shortage of cans and bottles around. This simple whistle can be fashioned from a standard 330ml can. Cub Scout Leader and bushcraft specialist Austin Lill shows us how.

1. Cut two strips from your can; one 1cm x 6cm and the other 1cm x 3cm.
2. Fold the smaller piece around one end of the longer piece, but don’t wrap it too tightly.
3. Fold the remaining flap back over the smaller wrapped piece. This forms the mouthpiece.
4. Next, bend the remaining length back to form a seven shape, and then bend this into a circular shape to form the body of the whistle.
5. Note that there is a gap of a couple of millimetres between the end of the long length and the mouthpiece. The trick with this whistle is to make sure that you can grip the sides with your thumb and index finger because they form the sound chamber.
6. If, when you blow, you don’t get a sound it will probably be because your mouthpiece is too flat, the gap between the mouthpiece and chamber isn’t right or you’re not forming an airtight seal on the chamber.

Tried and tested

Our volunteer Art Director, Arthur Garlick, ran this activity with his Explorer Scouts.

‘This activity is one you really must prepare and practise at home first. Opening up the cans and flattening them out into sheets is quite tricky and best done beforehand by an adult. Check that your method of cutting the cans provides a clean cut without leaving any sharp edges.

‘We had good results with scissors and an old paper guillotine, which left edges that were smooth and easily handled without injury.

‘Once you have tried cutting the strips from the sheets yourself you will know if your particular Scouts will be able to cut the strips themselves or if you will need to prepare them for them beforehand.

‘Getting a sound from the whistle is tricky at first, so make sure you can do it before you run the activity. Once you’ve managed it, explaining it to others is much easier.’

Safety first

Take care when using scissors to cut the strips of metal. The corners can be extremely sharp, so supervise young people closely. This activity is not recommended for Beavers and Cubs.