How to Make Hot Air Paper Lantern

Hot air paper lanterns are driven by a simple burner or candle. The heat from the burner warms the air, causing it to expand and drift upward into the balloon. The paper balloon is very light to begin with, and the hot air is less dense than cold air. This causes the balloon to lighten just enough to drift up into the air, taking its ghostly flickering light into the night.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Fire-retardant paper White glue Cellophane tape Bamboo Scissors Pen Cotton Rubbing alcohol Magnet wire Wire cutter

1. Roll a 40-inch square of flame retardant paper into a tube and use a thin layer of white glue along the seam to hold it together.

2. Cut a 40-inch sliver of bamboo from a pole. Whittle it down with a knife until it is as thin as possible. It should be between 1/16 and 1/8 inch in diameter.

3. Bend the bamboo into a hoop. Use a small piece of cellophane tape to hold it together.

4. Put the bamboo down on some paper, trace it and cut out a circle of paper.

5. Tie two thin strands of magnet wire to the hoop so that they make an "X" in the middle. The "X" is where you will put your burner.

6. Glue the hoop to one end of the paper tube so that it holds the tube open.

7. Have a friend hold the bamboo hoop so that the tube hangs open over the paper circle. Glue the circle to the end of the tube. You now have a paper balloon with an open bamboo hoop at one end and paper covering the other.

8. Soak a strip of cotton in 70 percent rubbing alcohol or greater, or some other flammable liquid. To launch the balloon, drape the cotton over the "X" where the wires meet. Have a friend hold the balloon open from the top. Light the cotton and hold onto the hoop until the balloon starts to life. Let go and watch it drift off into the sky!

Tips & Warnings

• Fire lanterns are dangerous and can catch things on the ground on fire. Be very careful, and don't use the balloon in excessively dry conditions.