Straw Rockets Activity for Kids (Free Rocket Printable)

With just a few supplies, you can launch a paper rocket at home! This straw rocket activity is super fun for your aspiring astronauts and only takes a few minutes to make.

Rainy days in SoCal are rare. And I have to admit, I am spoiled with the weather. I don’t even check the weather anymore, so imagine my surprise when I opened the door and saw rain coming down.

Okay, I guess no parks today. What to do indoors with my kid so they don’t turn the house upside down?

The straw rocket activity is super easy and quick to set up. You probably already have all the necessary materials in the house (there aren’t many). And the kids love blasting the rockets!

It also sneaks in a real physics lesson. Kids are experimenting with air pressure and force every single time they blow into that straw!

How to Make Straw Rockets

Materials

• Paper
• Straw
• Tape
• Scissors
• Free Straw Rockets Printable

What You’ll Learn

This straw rocket activity teaches kids about air pressure and force. When you blow into the straw, you’re pushing air that launches the rocket. It’s Newton’s Third Law in action: every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Directions:

1. Cut a piece of a rectangle so that the length wraps around the straw and the width is about the length of the top of the bendy straw (about 2”x1.5”). It doesn’t have to be exact, just eyeball it and cut the paper. 

2. Wrap the paper around your finger and tape it so you have a tube. Rolling it around your finger instead of the straw gives it just enough wiggle room to slide on and off easily.

3. Fold the top of the tube down and tape it closed. This sealed end is important – it’s what lets air pressure build up and launch the rocket. Any gap at the top and the air escapes.

4. That’s your rocket body. You can launch it right now if you want. Bend the straw, slip the rocket tube over the short end pointing up, and blow hard through the long end. My daughter launched hers before we even got to the decorating step.

5. Print and cut out the free rocket printable, or have your child draw their own rocket on a piece of paper and cut it out. Either works great. The draw-your-own version is surprisingly fun for kids who like to customize everything. 

6. Let your child color and decorate their rocket. This is the step where five minutes turns into twenty. Build in the time.

7. Tape the paper tube to the back of the rocket. Make sure the open end of the tube lines up with the bottom of the rocket – that’s where the straw goes in.

8. Slide the rocket onto the short end of the bendy straw, open end down, and give it a good, hard blow through the long end. The rocket should launch right off. If it’s not flying, check that the top of the tube is fully sealed – even a small gap will let the air out.

Once it’s flying, start experimenting. Try flipping the straw around so you’re blowing through the short end with the rocket on the long end. Does it go farther? Try angling the straw up versus pointing it straight out. Count down from 10 like NASA. My kids did this for almost an hour before they were done.

Straw Rocket Science: What’s Actually Happening?

When your child blows into the straw, the air has nowhere to go except up, so it pushes the paper rocket off the end. The harder they blow, the more air pressure builds up, and the farther the rocket flies. That’s force in action.

Older kids can take it further: try pointing the straw at a higher angle versus a lower one. Does the rocket go farther when you aim it up or out? There’s no wrong answer!

Straw Rocket Challenges (Make It a STEM Activity)

Once the basics are down, try these:

• Distance challenge: Mark a starting line with tape. Who can launch their rocket the farthest?
• Angle test: Try launching at 45 degrees versus straight up. Which angle wins?
• Design your own: Skip the printable and have your child draw their own rocket shape. Does a longer rocket fly differently than a short one?
• Countdown competition: Count down from 10 like NASA and launch at the same time. Great for siblings.

Final Thoughts on Straw Rockets

Feel free to have your child draw their own rockets and tape them onto the paper tube. My daughter loved coloring the rockets as much as cutting them out. So this became a fine-motor scissors skills activity as well!

More Fun Activities Your Kids Will Love

If your kids are hooked on launching things and making things fly, these are great next steps:

• Balloon Rocket Experiment – same air pressure science, different setup, great for comparing what makes rockets go farther
• Paper Helicopter – drop it from up high and watch it spin down; perfect follow-up after blasting rockets up
• Cup Phone Activity – another low-supply classic that teaches sound waves while they play
• Magic Milk Experiment – if you want a quick chemistry experiment on the same kind of rainy afternoon