Beat Nuts: Pistachio-Inspired Musical Craft!

By Pierce Freelon

May 16, 2024

15 min activity

I think that whoever said not to play with our food didn't have a vivid enough imagination. From macaroni maracas, to carrot flutes and popsicle stick harmonicas, we can celebrate good eats — and beats! This creative kids’ craft mixes the wonderful worlds of pistachios and Afro Latin percussion instruments. Prepare for a yummy and fun musical experience.

Explore all the fun sounds a pistachio can make. This activity encourages kids to eat healthy snacks and to think creatively about how to reduce and reuse. Pistachio shells, which would otherwise be considered trash, will be transformed into instruments that kids can play, sing and dance with. Create three percussion instruments that are popular in Afro Latin music. Get ready to dance and have fun!

Materials

Directions

Begin by sharing some Afro Latin music with your child, such as flamenco, salsa or bomba. You can hear Afro Latin musical elements in the podcast “Jamming on the Job”’s featured songs. (Check out the Prescribed Fire Manager episode (flamenco) and the upcoming Marine Scientist episode (bomba).)

As you listen, share some interesting facts with your child. For example:

These soulful rhythms and melodies came to Latin America with enslaved Africans.
Some genres of Afro Latin Music also have their very own styles of dance, such as salsa and bachata.

While enjoying the music, there is a very important role you can play: eat as many pistachios as you can! It’s important to finish eating and wash your hands afterwards, to separate the snacking part of the activity from the crafting part of the activity.

Once you’re finished eating, tell your child that you’re going to use the pistachio shells to make three percussion instruments that they just listened to: shakers and clackers (also known as castanets) (mentioned in the Prescribed Fire Manager episode of “Jamming on the Job”) and a güiro (mentioned in the Marine Scientist episode of “Jamming on the Job”).

To make your clackers, cut a rectangular piece of cardboard, about the length of your child’s hand, and about the width of two pistachios. Bend the cardboard in the middle so it makes a “V”.

Glue one pistachio shell onto each end of the cardboard so that the outside of the shells click each other when you bend the cardboard together.

Let the glue set for 5-10 minutes, then decorate the clacker.

Bend the cardboard to make the clacker.

To make your güiro and shaker, use a cardboard toilet paper roll, or cut a paper towel roll in half. Glue 5 to 10 pistachios along the length of the cardboard cylinder.

Let the glue set for 5-10 minutes. Take your remaining pistachio shells and put them inside the paper towel roll, and seal each end with tape. Your güiro now doubles as a shaker/maraca!

You can now decorate your instrument with markers or paint to make them look unique and exciting!

Rhythmically rake a stick up and down the pistachios to create the Afro Latin güiro sound. You can also shake it to create a completely different sound!

The last step is to put on some music and play along with your child. Afro Latin music is great for having fun and learning about the rich cultures of Black and indigenous folks from around the world. We hope you enjoyed this activity and if you post any dance moves online, be sure to tag PBS KIDS!