Match Rockets

Match rockets are something that made my childhood! They are extremely easy to make, extremely easy and safe to operate and if you don't feel like using them all at once, you can store them for later!

Challenge your siblings or friends to see who can build the best rocket, and shoot it the furthest!

All you need is:

- aluminum foil

- a box of matches (with matches)
- scissors
- a lighter
- a bamboo/ wooden skewer

- duct tape (optional)

Making match rockets doesn't take much preparation.

First, take as many matches out of the box. Remember, each rocket uses 1 match head so the amount of rockets you will have depends on the number of matches you take out.

Cut the head off of the matches, leaving a tiny bit of the matches body.

Secondly, for each rocket cut out a piece of aluminum foil in the shape shown. the length should be between 8-10 cm long and the width around 4-5 cm.

Thirdly cut a square of masking tape (one for each rocket) around 2*2cm - if you don't want to use tape, you can use aluminum foil, although its harder for it to stay on the rocket.

Finally, take the bamboo skewer and cut it 15-20 cm from the tip. We need the end with the sharp tip.

Important: don't throw away all the left over match bodies and the body of the skewer! They may come in handy in a different project!

Take the skewer and the head of the match and place them one after the other on the aluminum foil.
Make sure that the match head is facing away from the skewer and also leave at least 1.5 from the edge of the aluminum foil to the head of the match.

Carefully start rolling the foil around the skewer, making sure to wrap it as tight as you can around the skewer (but not too tight so it cant fly off of it).
Be very careful not to make a hole in the foil, as this will cause the rocket not to fire!!

Once rolled, make sure to tightly press the empty foil together, Fold and repeat as many times as you can.
This stage is super important as, if the tip is loose or has a hole in it, the rocket will not fire!

Now, take the rocket off the skewer and create some more! you may use the box of matches to hold your new match rockets.

Make a hole in the middle of the tape square (or foil).
With the sticky side facing down, put the skewer through the hole and move the tape up until it is in the middle of the body.

Clamp the corners together to make the fins!

Note: If you used foil instead of tape, you may have a hard time keeping the fins on the body of the rocket. Try not to make the hole in the foil to big, this will help with keeping it on the body.

Optional: Cut the fins to make them more aerodynamic.

There are many ways to fire the rockets, I personally loved creating a static platform and firing from that.

Create a hole in the matchbox (or in any cardboard) and place the skewer in it with the tip facing up. This will help with the reloading later on

Carefully place your rocket on the skewer, making sure its nice and tight on it, but again, loose enough to fly off.

Hold the lighter to the tip of the rocket and once the foil heats up enough - Blastoff!!
Load the next rocket and fire until your done!!!!