DIY Stethoscope

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. Please see policies for more information.

My little guy had strep, had an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin, and now has strep again. Needless to say we’ve been to the Dr a few times in the past couple weeks. (Luckily the last time we were there was a year ago – darn those school germs!) Anyway we were teasing about what song our heartbeats must sound like. Blackeyed Peas? Pearl Jam? Beastie Boys? Taylor Swift? Garth Brooks? We decided to find out for ourselves.

All you need to make the simplest stethoscope is a paper towel roll and a balloon. Cut the end off of the balloon and pull over one end of the paper towel roll.

Stick it up to your brother’s heart and take a listen

You could even try it out on your dog

as long as they’ll lay there long enough for you.

We thought we’d try out another way in case you don’t have any balloons. For this one you need a paper towel roll, foil, and duct tape.

Take a piece of foil and cut out a small square to fit over the top

Attach foil to top with the duct tape.

We tested it out to see which one works better.

One thought the balloon one was better and the other thought they were both the same.

There are actually so many ways to make a stethoscope – you could use a funnel and tubing (we don’t have tubing lying around and I didn’t feel like buying some JUST for this project). Or you could even use a water bottle top and tubing. That way you could listen to your own heart.

The boys really liked finding and listening to the dogs’ hearts. Here’s to good health!