Popsicle Stick Bombs

This comes your way from my nephews. I hadn’t thought about these in years, until the boys apparently found themselves a tutorial on Youtube and ran up the stairs to show us their newfound creations.

It took me back to elementary school, where would make these during recess. We’d assemble them on the grass, then throw them on the sidewalk and cheer every time they exploded (which was every time). I only knew how to make the basic bomb back then, but thanks to my nephews, I have learned two new designs – the butterfly and the flying fish. Still can’t make that darn 5-point star, though, so you won’t find that in this tutorial!

A word of advice – there was a reason we assembled these guys on the grass back in elementary. You need a somewhat squishy surface so that you can push down and still slip sticks underneath one another. I recommend carpet or grass. If you try to do it on a countertop, it is infinitely harder. Consider yourself warned!

Stick Bombs – Step-by-Step

The Basic Bomb

Materials

4 popsicle sticks
squishy surface

Instructions

Start by overlapping the top of two sticks so that they form a V.

Next, lay another stick from the bottom of one to the center of the other.

Now, press down on the top and bottom of the figure (in mine, where the red intersects the orange, and where the red intersects the yellow). Slip the last stick underneath the stick on the left, over the middle stick, and then underneath the stick on the right.

And that’s it! You’ve made the basic bomb!

The Butterfly

Materials

5 popsicle sticks
squishy surface

Instructions

Start by crossing two sticks to make an X.

Next, lay a stick on top across the center.

Take another stick and slip it under the two ends of the X and over the center stick.

Do the same on the other side. It helps to press down on the two edges of the X on the right.

Yay! Look at that lovely butterfly – ready for throwing!

The Flying Fish

Materials

6 popsicle sticks
squishy surface

Instructions

This is definitely the hardest one of the three, but it has the most tension, so the explosion is so worth it!

Start by laying two sticks parallel. Lay another two sticks on top of them to form a square.

Next, lay another stick on top across the middle.

Now, lay another stick across the middle. This one is going to go under both side pieces and over the middle piece.

You can stop here, if you like. This figure is called the Window, and it makes an excellent bomb. If you want to keep going, then push the top and bottom sticks towards the middle. Repeat that with the outside side sticks.

Now, push on two opposing corners so that the figure moves into a diamond shape.

That’s the flying fish! Can you see the fish in it?

So there you go! In order to use your bombs, just throw them at a hard surface. The harder you throw, the bigger the explosion. Do remember to make sure that there’s nobody in the blast area before you throw!