How To Make A Drum...Or, How To Make A Cub Scout Make A Drum?

Do you remember those days of your youth when even the simplest things could bring such wonder and joy? Maybe it's easy for me to remember because when I was a cub scout, there were no such things as video games, cellphones, computers, or even VCRs (or Batamax machines...). No, we had skateboards, bicycles, friends, open roads, and public parks.

But I think the wonder of a child care be reached even in our electronic age. Case in point, tonight we helped a bunch of eight to ten-year old boys build drums. These drums were rudimentary, and the finish product produced sounds that sounded a little like what you hear when you bang a proper drum. Still, the scouts didn't care. They were excited for the opportunity.

And that tells me something. We took some large cans, some faux leather fabric, some rubber bands, and some paint and let them loose. The only complaints I heard was there wasn't enough red paint. Apparently, the kids liked red (a good sign for the next generation, if you ask me...).

So, how do you get a young boy to make a drum? Basically, you provide the materials and let them go for it. Like I said, I doubt these things will be effective drums, but those kids didn't care. They had a blast putting them together anyway, and there's something important to be learned in that.