Easy Confetti Cannon Projects

Confetti Cannons are used on many occasions like New Years Eve, weddings, birthdays, graduations, and many other celebrations. They also make a great end of school year project! They are so much fun and very messy! Which means kids love them. Today we are learning how to make simple confetti cannon projects to help your kids celebrate in style, all while using simple, budget friendly materials. Easy Confetti Cannon projects are perfect for your classroom or summer camp.

2 Easy Confetti Cannon Projects

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In this quick and easy project, we are going to make two super cool, kid-powered confetti canon launchers. In addition to being fun, students will also learn about air pressure, energy, and force, along with practicing scissor skills and strengthening little kids’ hands.

To start with, let’s look at the two different types of confetti cannons we are going to make:
The first one is made using an empty toilet roll or cardboard tube and a balloon attached to one end and the second one, is the top section of a 2-litre cooldrink bottle with a balloon attached to the top of the bottle.

Before we look at the science of these canons, let’s get on with making them first.

NOTE: We apologize for the spelling error in “cannon” in our test project in the images and video. Oops!!!

Confetti Cannon Video Tutorial

Watch us making our Confetti Cannons in our video tutorial, if the video feed is blocked by your browser, simply visit the STEAM Powered Family YouTube Channel to watch all the fun there! The YouTube version also has closed captioning for those requiring it.

Confetti Cannon Design 1

This first design is super quick and simple!

Materials

Large balloons
Toilet roll inner
Duct tape or masking tape
Confetti – lots of confetti! (This can be store-bought confetti or DYI confetti made by cutting up pieces of paper or using a hole punch)
Scissors
Glue Stick
Dustpan and brush for clean up!

Directions

Cut the neck of the balloon off and stretch the open side onto the end of the toilet roll tube. I used a small piece of an old postage tube, as it was a lot thicker than the toilet roll tube and was much sturdier.

Cut a thin piece of duct tape and secure the balloon to the tube.

Measure the height and circumference of your tube and cut a piece of paper (you can use white or colored craft paper) that will cover the whole tube. If you want to add stickers or draw designs on your paper, do it now.

STEM Tip! You could even bring in some tech and have kids design their wrappers on the computer and print them out.

Use the glue stick to stick the rectangle of paper down onto the tube.

Get your confetti ready! If you do not have confetti, cut your own or use a paper punch to make your own!

Fill your tube with confetti, take aim, pull back the balloon and let go!

Design #2 Going Bigger

This project is a bit more complex and may require an adult to complete at least one of the steps. This one is better for your older kids.

Materials

2-litre empty plastic bottle
Box Cutter
Scissors
Large Balloon
Confetti
Small container to keep your confetti in
Dustpan and brush (for clean up!)

Directions

Unscrew the lid of the bottle and save it for another project.

SAFETY NOTE: This project is more advanced and requires adult supervision. If working with younger kids, have an adult cut and prepare the bottles for them.

Use the box cutter to cut off the first 1/3 of the top of the bottle. You will notice that the bottles have a line right around that point that you can use to guide where to cut. Remember, safety first, have a responsible adult do this step for younger kids.

Blow up your balloon and twist the neck of the balloon so the air cannot escape.

Stretch the neck of the balloon open and slip it onto the end of the bottle. It is a bit tricky to do on your own, so get someone to help you with this step!

Holding onto the twisted balloon, fill the “cup” of the bottle with confetti, take aim, untwist the balloon and watch the colourful explosion!

Keep a dustpan and brush nearby and sweep up the confetti each time you use your canon, so you have confetti for each test you do.

The Science of the Confetti Cannon

Confetti Cannons use the science of Energy Transfer.

In the first canon you made, when you stretch the balloon toward you, you build up stored energy or potential energy. This is the same for when you stretch a rubber band.

When you released the stretched balloon, the balloon snapped back very quickly and the sudden movement pushed air into the tube converting the stored energy to kinetic energy, which forced the confetti up and out of the tube. Kinetic energy is also known as the energy of motion.

The amount of energy used when you stretched the balloon and when you let it go did not change and no energy was lost. All that happened was that the energy changed from one form to another.

This is an example of Newton’s Third Law of Motion: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

The force of the air coming out of the balloon pushes air and confetti out one way, and the air pushes back to make it fly out the other way!

It works similarly in the second canon you made too. In that Confetti Cannon, when you blew the balloon up, you were filling it with air and giving it something called potential energy. That means the energy is stored inside the balloon and ready to do something exciting.

Then, when you let go of the balloon, all that air rushed out of the balloon quickly, pushing the balloon in the opposite direction and filling the “cup” with kinetic energy which forced the confetti out of the cup and into the air just as quickly! The distance the confetti flew out of the “cup” depends on the amount of air pressure.

Scientific Investigation

It’s time to decide which confetti canon worked better and why.

Here are some prompts you can use with your students to get them thinking.

• Did the balloon on the tube store more, or less potential energy than the balloon on the bottle top and why?
• Did the angle you held both canons make a difference to the size of the explosion?
• Which canon had the most air pressure and why?
• What would happen if we used a different size balloon or a long paper towel roll?
• What other ways could we create energy to shoot confetti out of a launcher?

Extension Activities

Want to try another Confetti Cannon design or check out a book study to complement this project? Check out this resource.

A fun way to plant seeds in spring and rewild areas around your school fields is to make Seed Bombs and Launchers.

Or how about making a Catapult Cannon to launch learning and fun!