How to Make a Straw Rocket

Straw rockets are a great indoor activity for children. They are fun, easy to make and safe to launch. Straw rockets can be used as a fun school activity in conjunction with science lessons on space exploration or air pressure. They can also be a great rainy day activity. Straw rockets can be made with glue, or younger kids can use tape. Read on to learn how to make a straw rocket.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Fold a blank piece of printer paper in half so that it is 8.5 by 5.5 inches. Construction paper or cardstock can also be used, but poster board is too heavy. Experiments can be done to determine the best material.

2. Draw a long rectangle with a pointed end or a long triangle. The base end should be about three inches wide, and it should be between 4 and 6 inches long. Part of the fun of straw rockets is experimenting with shapes to see what flies the best.

3. Cut out the shape so that two identical sheets are created. Often a single folded sheet can yield two or three straw rocket bodies.

4. Tape or glue the two pieces together along every edge except for the base. Try not to leave any gaps in the tape or glue seal. Decorate as desired and let glue dry thoroughly.

5. Slide a drinking straw into the base end of the rocket. Experiment with the depth of the straw insertion.

6. Blow sharply into the straw to launch rockets. Fun competitions include launching to hit a target, trying for maximum height, distance or flight time.

Tips & Warnings

• Instead of decorating straw rockets as rockets, they could be superheroes, birds, airplanes or even comets.