Make a Flapping Bat Puppet

Black paper, a straw, and string turn into a bat puppet whose wings flap when you pull.

 

Materials you'll need

• black paper
• scissors
• googly eyes
• white colored pencil
• straw
• glue
• string
• tape

 

Step-by-step tutorial

Step 1: Fold a sheet of black paper in half. Cut out a bat shape along the fold, with pointy ears and scalloped wings, so both sides come out matching when you open it.

Step 2: Stick two googly eyes near the top of the bat's head.

Step 3: Grab a white colored pencil and draw a smile with two little fangs under the eyes.

Step 4: Glue a straw along the center fold, starting just under the face. Let the rest of the straw hang past the bottom of the bat so you have a handle to hold.

Step 5: Thread string through the straw so two ends come out the top and a loop hangs out the bottom.

Step 6: Tape one string end to the top tip of each wing.

Step 7: Hold the straw in one hand and pull the loop with the other. Watch your bat flap its wings!

Learn more

Your bat flaps thanks to tension, the pulling force that travels along a tight string. A string can only pull in the direction it runs, so when you tug the loop at the bottom, the straw steers that pull up and out along the string to the wing tips, folding both wings in at once. Real bats are the only mammals that can truly fly, and their wings are thin skin stretched over very long finger bones.

Want a bat that flaps all by itself? This Fluttering Bat Wings DIY swaps your pull string for wound-up rubber bands, so the wings spin and flutter the second you let go. If you're in the mood for Halloween, this DIY Halloween Bundle lets kids build a light-up haunted house, creature luminaries, and a glowing candy tote.