How to Make Paper Fire Crackers

Make a paper popper from any kind of paper.

Paper firecrackers are also known as paper poppers. As opposed to real firecrackers, these poppers contain no gunpowder and require no fire. Instead, people, usually children, grasp them in such a way that they can give them a sharp flick of the wrist and the paper makes a sudden, loud popping noise. This noise resembles a firecracker’s pop. Paper firecrackers consist of a single sheet of notebook paper, and this makes them a favorite of school children. However, construction paper is a more effective and reliable material for them.

Things You'll Need

• Sheet of construction paper

Instructions

Folding

1. Place a sheet of construction paper on the table in a vertical position. Fold it in half from right to left. Crease and unfold. Fold it again from the right, lining up the edge of the paper with the center crease you just made.

2. Fold the long flap you just made over to the right one more time. It will fold along the center crease you made in Step 1. Now you have a long paper with a double flap along the right side.

3. Turn the paper over and fold it in half from top to bottom. Now you have a smaller rectangle with a pocket around the outside created by the flap.

Popping

1. Position the rectangle so the flap is on the left and the open ends of the flap are at the bottom. Grasp the two inner layers of paper at the bottom right corner with the thumb and forefinger of your left hand.

2. Slide the rectangle between your right thumb and forefinger. Press your thumb and finger together at the corner of the flap ends. Your right thumb will be to the left of your left thumb.

3. Keep pressing your fingers and thumbs together and slide the rectangle down and to the left with your left hand. The flap ends in your right hand will slide across the paper and end up next to the upper right corner of the rectangle. The left side of the paper is now in the shape of two arches.

4. Keep holding the paper in your right hand and remove your left hand. Hold the paper firecracker above your head and quickly and suddenly bring it down with full force. The air will catch the arches and straighten them, creating a loud popping noise.

Tips & Warnings

• Use any kind of paper to make the paper firecracker.

References

• Enbay11 (YouTube): Extremely Loud Paper Popper
• Simple Modding (YouTube): Paper Popper