How to Make a Flying Floating Lantern
Flying lanterns are also called sky lanterns, floating lanterns or wish lanterns, but they are traditionally known as kong-ming lanterns. Flying lanterns were first used by the ancient Chinese to celebrate special events. Constructed of rice paper and bamboo, flying lanterns lift up into the air when their fuel is lit. The heat from the flame warms the air in the lantern and causes it to rise. The lantern will stay afloat in the air until the heat source burns out. It will then fall back to the ground. Since flying lanterns are made from ordinary, inexpensive materials, they are a fun paper craft that can be enjoyed on a calm night.
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Things You'll Need
- Knife
- Bamboo strips
- Pliers
- Glue
- Copper wiring
- Light weight, firm paper
- Scissors
- Ethanol
- 0.4 ounces of cotton
Instructions
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1
Shape the bamboo into a 2/5-inch-wide and 1/25-inch-thick strip with a knife.
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2
Bend the bamboo strip to make a circle and glue the ends together.
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3
Use the pliers to tie the copper wire from the top to the bottom of the bamboo circle. Tie another segment of wire from side to side, forming a cross.
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4
Cut the paper into a large enough sheet to form a cylinder with the same diameter as the bamboo circle. Glue the seams of the paper together to form the cylinder.
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5
Cut a circle from the remaining paper. The circle should be the same size as the opening of the cylinder. Glue the circle to the top of the cylinder.
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6
Glue the open end of the cylinder to the bamboo circle. The bamboo circle will form the base.
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7
Cut a roughly 4 inch long bamboo strip, bend it and wrap it with cotton that has soaked in ethanol.
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8
Hang the cotton wrapped bamboo strip at the intersection of the copper wires.
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9
Fly the lantern at night by lighting the ethanol-soaked cotton and letting go of the lantern as it begins to rise.
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1
Tips & Warnings
If the bamboo is not bending easily, place it in an oven on low heat for a few minutes to make it more flexible. Large lanterns fly better than smaller ones. Tie a long string from your lantern to guide your flying lantern and find it once it has burned out.
When flying your lantern, choose a night with no wind. Wind may cause the lantern to catch fire and crash into the ground. Do not fly your lantern near power lines or trees.
