Steve Hoefer created a fun video that shows you how to make Match Rockets.
This is one of my favorite projects. It’s fun, cheap, hands on, and educational. My brothers taught me how to make them when I was about nine years old, but I suspect it originally dates to a time when young boys carried everything they needed in their pockets: Matches, a bit of wire, and a foil gum wrapper. Over time bits of wire gave way to paper clips and pins, and gum apparently doesn’t come in foil wrappers any more, so we’ll make do with regular aluminum foil. Here’s the full how-to with a about two dozen rocket launches included because I was having too much fun.



Thanks for the memory. I totally forgot about doing this as a kid.
gotta film that with a Phantom!
When doing this with my science class,I found that if you use two pins, you get better results. After some experimentation, I found that rather than placing them on the broad, flat side of the match, if you place them on the left/right side when the match is flat, you get much more consistent ignition and distance. Enjoy!
This trick is included in The Great International Paper Airplane Book (http://www.amazon.com/Great-International-Paper-Airplane-Book/dp/0671211293), so it’s at least from the 60′s.
These are the kinds of toys that create good engineers a decade later. We need more!!!!
I remember who showed this to me in 1950. My friends started carrying the materials in addition to the slingshot made from a coat-hanger, rubber bands and homemade staples as ammunition.
Great use of the giant-sized match and accessories for demonstration purposes. Nice video.
// What's Trending
Raspberry Pi Design Contest
Dad Builds Son an Iron Man Arc Reactor
Teardrop Camper Trailer
Seventeen Sneaky Secret Hides
What to do with an 800 Lb Eucalyptus Slab
10 Things to Connect to Your Raspberry Pi
80-Ruxpin Art Installation
Lego Steampunk Strandbeest Model
// What's Shared
A better way to slice a pumpkin
DIY Nerf Darts
100 Dollar Store Organization Ideas for Craft Rooms and Beyond
In the Maker Shed: Minty Boost USB Charger
Mad’s Mouse House
Lace Princess Crowns
I Have a (Puzzling) Dream
Play the Rings of a Tree Trunk Like a Record
// Most Commented
Plastic Bags into Plastic Blocks: Revisited
10 Hot New Boards to Watch
Why the Maker Movement is Here to Stay
MAKE Asks: Roadside Hacks
DIY Hacks & How To’s: Convert From Battery Power to AC
Ten Tips for Hand Saws and Blades
How To Make Your Own Laundry Detergent
What to do with an 800 Lb Eucalyptus Slab
Trending Topics
Get our Newsletters
About Maker Media
Subscribe
to MAKE!
Get the print and digital versions when you subscribe