Ghost Balloon String Rocket

What you need

• Crayons or markers, 1 marker
• Painter's tape, a few strips
• String, 1 long piece
• Straws, 1
• Balloon, 1 white, plus spares
• Chairs, 2

How to do it

Grown-up prep: Find two chairs and a long piece of string, enough to stretch across part of a room. Grab a straw, some tape, a marker and a white balloon. You'll handle all the balloon blowing and pinching. Uninflated and broken balloons are a choking hazard for children under 8, so keep spare and popped pieces out of reach. Check for latex allergies first, or use latex-free balloons.

1. Thread the string through the straw so it slides along.
2. Tie one end of the string to a chair, pull tight, then tie the other. Ask for help if you need it
3. A grown-up blows up the balloon and pinches the end closed. No tying! A grown-up does this
   Ask: Where do you think all that air will go when we let go?
4. While the balloon stays pinched, draw a friendly ghost face on it.
5. Tape the balloon to the straw, pinched end toward the nearest chair.
6. Count down 3, 2, 1 and let go of the balloon! Ask for help if you need it
   Ask: Whoa! Which way did the air rush, and which way did the ghost go?
7. Stick a tape mark where the ghost stopped, then slide it back.
8. A grown-up blows it up again, with a little more or less air. A grown-up does this
9. Now make more ghosts and race them! Whose will fly the farthest? Ask for help if you need it
   Ask: What could we change to make our ghost fly even farther?

Play it again

• Uphill zoom: tie one end of the string higher and see if the ghost can climb.
• Long highway: use a longer string and guess where the ghost will stop before you launch.
• Ghost parade: make a whole family of ghosts with different faces and launch them one by one.