- 10 - 15 mins
- Fine motor, creative, active
- Minimal mess
- Easy!
This pom-pom blaster was an absolute hit! This is a great DIY activity for both inside and outside. Quick and simple to make with minimal resources and hours of fun to be had! Watch your children’s light up with delight as they fling and blast pom poms all around the room with a DIY blaster. Make one, make multiple! Explore and experiment and challenge each other with pom-pom wars!
Please note: Pom poms can be a choking hazard and is not recommended for young children. Please supervise your children at all times.
What you will need
- Toilet roll
- Balloons
- Masking tape
- Pom-poms
- Scissors
- Coloured markers and decorative paper (optional)
Activity steps
Setup
- Using your coloured markers or decorative paper, decorate your toilet roll. For example, wrap and secure coloured paper around the outside or colour in with your unique designs.
Please note: This first step is optional, however if you have more than one child, I would suggest completing this step, so each shooter is individualised and there is no squabbles with whose is who.
- Grab a balloon and carefully use your scissors to cut the balloon at the neck. You just want the end that you would normally blow into not the base.
- Tie the balloon off as you normally would and stretch the opposite end over one end of your toilet roll.
- Use some strong tape such as masking tape to secure the balloon to the toilet roll.
- Put some pom poms inside your toilet roll.
- Hold the toilet roll in one hand and pull down on the balloon at the other end and release. Watch the pom-poms fly out and blast across the room.
Learning Opportunities
- Fine motor- Drawing, taping, cutting, pinching and stretching the blaster release.
- Creative expression- Children can individualise their blaster however they please.
- Gross motor- Running & chasing as they play, picking up and reloading the blaster. Blasting the release.
Reference sites
We would like to acknowledge these amazing sites that have inspired us to create this activity. Thank you!