Make a Bird Launcher

Materials you'll need

• Paper cups (same size)
• Rubber band
• Pink or red paper (for the head)
• Blue paper (for the wings and feathers)
• Yellow paper (for the beak)
• Black marker
• Scissors
• Tape or glue

 

Step-by-step tutorial

Step 1: Grab two paper cups.

Step 2: On one cup, cut two small slits near the rim, on opposite sides of the cup.

Step 3: Thread a rubber band through both slits so it stretches tightly across the open mouth of the cup.

Step 4: Fold a piece of pink paper in half and cut out a rounded bird head with a fringed, feathery bottom edge. Draw on two eyes. Then cut a small yellow triangle for the beak and a blue fringed piece for the neck feathers.

Step 5: Glue the beak and blue feathers onto the head, then tape the finished head to the bottom of your second cup.

Step 6: Cut two big wings and a few extra feather shapes out of blue paper, then tape them to the sides of the second cup.

Step 7: Press your bird cup mouth-down onto the rubber-banded cup, pushing gently to stretch the band. Let go, and watch your bird pop into the air.

Learn more

This bird gets its bounce from elastic potential energy — the energy stored inside anything stretchy when you pull, twist, or squish it. When you stretch the rubber band across the cup and press the bird cup down on top of it, you're stretching that band even further, packing in more stored energy. The instant you let go, all that stored energy releases at once and turns into kinetic energy — the energy of motion — sending your bird flying upward.