How to Make a Ping Pong Popper

 Ping pong poppers can be used in a lesson on aerodynamics and motion.  They are lots of fun to make.  They can be a bit fiddly, but I use this as a teaching tool for the students and ask them how they can improve upon their design.


Here are the materials needed:  1.  two toilet paper rolls
                                               2.  four paper clips
                                               3.  two elastic bands (use smaller thinner ones)
                                               4.  a square piece of saran wrap
                                               5.  a ping pong 


                                               Materials to put together the ping pong popper:
                                                1.  scissors
                                                2.  masking tape
                                           

 1.  Take one of the toilet paper rolls and cut it vertically from top to bottom.  Then, take the masking tape and tape it together smaller than it originally was. You are trying to make a smaller toilet paper roll that will fit inside another toilet paper roll.


2.  Take the saran wrap and cover the top of this inside toilet paper roll; use tape to secure it into place.


Now, you have basically designed the lever or thrust of your popper.  This toilet paper roll will fit inside the larger toilet paper roll.

 

 3.  Now the tricky part:  secure two of the paperclips on the TOP of the larger toilet paper roll; one on each side of the toilet paper roll.  Place the smaller toilet paper roll inside the larger one; then, secure two paperclips on the BOTTOM of the smaller toilet paper roll.

 4.  Next, take your elastic band and secure through the top paper clip on the large toilet paper roll, and through the bottom paper clip on the smaller toilet paper roll.  Do this on both sides of the ping pong popper.

 5.  Place the ping pong at the top of the large toilet paper roll.  Pull back on the inside toilet paper roll, and it should shoot out the ping pong!


Sometimes it doesn't work and you have to play around with the type of elastic bands to use; as well, students I worked with found that the saran wrap ripped, so many of them experimented by using masking tape to cover the top of the smaller toilet paper roll. 

Here I have doubled up on the elastic; I found that the shorter elastics worked better.

Again, these are finicky, but the students found it challenging and fun to create, and then they talked about modifying their designs.

Make sure that when the shoot, they do not aim at others.  The ping pongs will not fly across the room, and I would say that the most they travel are about 2-5 feet.  Even if they aren't successful and don't shoot that far, the students love to create something that will move a ping pong.  

This is a great activity for those "hands on" students that love to build and design with their hands.  Good luck!