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How to Make a Bottle Rocket Parachute Out of a Plastic Bag

Bottle rockets can provide hours of outdoor fun, and are an engaging way to introduce young students to concepts like propulsion, lift and trajectory. If you want to use your bottle rocket more than once, you will need to attach a parachute to ensure that it doesn't break apart during landing. Bottle rocket parachutes can be made inexpensively from materials common in most households.

Things You'll Need

Plastic grocery bag
Ruler
Exacto blade or box cutter
Cotton twine
Scissors
Masking tape
Permanent marker

Instructions

- 1
  Lay the grocery bag flat on a large working surface, with the handles of the bag farthest away from you and the bottom of the bag closest to you. Smooth out any wrinkles. Make sure that the handles of the bag are lying exactly one on top of the other and that both sides of the open edge of the bag are aligned. Many shopping bags actually curve around the handles. If the handles are not aligned with each other, it will be very difficult to make a straight cut, and your parachute may not hold air properly.
- 2
  Lay a ruler across the bag, about 1 inch below the open edge. Make sure that the ruler is even on both sides.
- 3
  Press the ruler down firmly with one hand. With the other hand, cut along the edge of the ruler closest to the open edge using your exacto blade or a box cutter. This will sever the handles of the bag and create a clean, flat edge at the top of the bag.
- 4
  Cut four pieces of 10-inch long twine using the scissors. Be careful not to stretch the twine as you measure it or your cut pieces will be uneven.
- 5
  Cut four lengths of masking tape to 3-inches long. Secure each piece temporarily along the edge of your working surface.
- 6
  Measure the width of the base -- the cut edge -- of your plastic bag. Mark the center on both sides using a permanent marker.
- 7
  Lay one length of string across the center mark, perpendicular to the cut edge of the plastic bag. Secure the piece of string with one length of tape, ensuring that the string runs exactly to the edge of the tape. Repeat this process for the other mark.
- 8
  Rotate the base of the bag 90 degrees, so that the pieces of string attached to the bag move from the center line to the outer edges.
- 9
  Remeasure the bag, and mark the new center line on both sides. Attach the two additional pieces of twine in the same manner as above.
- 10
  Gather the free ends of each piece of twine together. Make sure that they are all even. Secure the twine ends together by wrapping one additional piece of masking tape around the group.
- 11
  Attach the finished parachute to the rocket using tape or twine, as appropriate to the shape and fixtures of your individual bottle rocket.

Backyard Toys