Hot Air Carrousel

Fun & Simple Science Project

Our creation is a small carrousel piece that is powered by hot air (rising from a candle).

The hot air from the candle rises and meets the angled blades of our carrousel top which is balanced on a small metal stick. The air flows through the blades in a specific direction making the entire top spin.

Please be careful when handling fire! Ask for help of adults if needed :)

As I love this project so much I had an aluminium version of the parts made. BUT, all you need to make this project with ease are:

1. Bottle cup (smaller is better) - Will be balanced on our metal rod
2. Popsicles sticks - Will be attached to the cup as blades
3. A ~15cm metal rod (a thin one) - Will hold our top above our candle
4. Glue (preferably one that is less sensitive to heat) - To attach the blades to the cup
5. A candle - To generate hot air
6. A lighter - To fire things up
7. OPTIONAL: A candle holder, as you can see I have one but it is not a must

1. Take the metal rod and dent the middle point of the inner part of the cup. Try not to go through but dent it enough so you can balance the cup on the rod at that point.
2. Cut the popsicle sticks into thirds/quarters and glue each to the cup as a blade. We want our blades to be at 30-45 degrees, as you can see in the top part of my own carrousel. We need at least 8 blades for the project to work.
3. Place the rod in the ground, make sure it is standing straight.
4. Balance the top (cup + blades) on the rod at the contact point we created in step 1.
5. Place the candle under the top part, make sure there are ~10cm between the candle and the top part!
6. Light the candle and enjoy :)