Make your own flying bat straw “rockets” using our free printable bat template. This Halloween science and STEM / STEAM activity is super easy and lots of fun for kids of all ages. This bat activity for kids makes a great project to do during a Halloween party and also is the perfect extension activity to go with a bat unit.
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This post was originally posted on September 16, 2018 and has since been updated.
Our printable straw rockets are always a hit year round, so I wanted to create something similar for Halloween… flying bat straw rockets! With just a few materials and our free printable bat template (in both color and black and white), kids can create their own flying bats and explore physics through play. This STEM or STEAM activity also makes a great extension activity to a bat unit or the popular picture book, Stellaluna.
Also be sure to check out tips and ideas for extending the activity after the directions. There’s so many fun ways to use these cute, little flying bats!
See them in action here!
Flying Bat Straw Rockets
Materials for Bat Straw Rockets
- Paper straws (You could use black straws or orange straws for Halloween.)
- Tape
- Plastic pipettes (We use these all the time for science and art activities like our color activity and our spooky Halloween tree art. They are very inexpensive and always great to have on hand of all kinds of activities using pipettes.) You can also use paper straws with a larger diameter than your other set of straws in place of the pipettes.
- Scissors
- Optional: Markers, crayons, or colored pencils
- Free printable bat template in color or in black and white (Click on the link or image below for the free bat templates. You’ll first see the black and white bat printable. Scroll down to also see the bat printable in color.)
Directions for Making Bat Straw Rockets
1. Print out the free bat templates. You can print out bats already in color or print out bats in black and white and decorate them however you’d like using crayons, markers, or colored pencils.
2. Cut out your bat.
3. Turn your bat over. Cut off the bottom of a plastic pipette and attach it to the back of a bat using tape.
If you don’t have any plastic pipettes handy, you can use a straw instead. (Just make sure this straw is wider than the other straw you’ll be using for launching.) Cut the straw to fit the length of the rocket and tape one end shut so it’s completely sealed. Attach it to your rocket with glue dots or tape.
4. Slip your straw into the pipette and you’re ready to make your bats fly!
5. Blow a big burst of air into your straw and see how far your bat can fly. Check out ways to extend this activity below.
Tips and Ideas to Try with Your Flying Bat Activity
- Try out both bat designs. Does one bat fly further than the other?
- Incorporate math into your activity by measuring how far your bat can fly. You can even have bat flying races with your friends!
- What happens if you modify your bats wings by bending them different directions? How does it affect the bat’s flight.
- How does the angle of your straw before blowing affect your bats flight?
Check out all kinds of fun Halloween STEM ideas in our STEAM Kids Halloween Ebook!
50+ pages of spooky fun STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math) activities that will wow the boredom right out of your kids!
This is an adorable craft! Question: Is it necessary to use a paper straw, or will a plastic one work just as well. I am guessing it doesn’t matter, but maybe there is some reason I’m not thinking of that a paper one will work better.
Plastic will work too. 🙂
Where do you get the plastic piece to put on the bat??
Did you use print paper or card stock for the bags?
Hi Jaime- I printed them out on cardstock. 🙂
Hi Chelsy!
Do you think this activity might work with 6 years old kids? I am guessing cardstock would be a lot heavier for them to blow than print paper. Could it also work with print paper?
Tx for the tips!
Hi Catalina- I’ve done my regular straw rockets with 5 and 6 year olds, and they loved them! Some had trouble taping the back pipette on straight, but it was a learning experience for them to see how their rockets flew when it was on crooked. And afterward, we’d work together to tape it on straight. But that was just a few kids. I’ve done the bats with 7 year olds. The only tricky party might be cutting the curvy part of the bottom of the wings. For those kids, I’d just have them cut straight across. Cardstock will definitely work better. 🙂 Hope that helps! I think they’d really enjoy them! Let me know how it goes if you end up doing them!