Potato Canon

What you need:

Bag of Potatoes

Aerosol Hairspray (Aquanet works great)

One foot of 4-inch ABS pipe (the black pipe)

Four feet of 2-inch ABS pipe

One 2-4 inch reducer

One 4-inch male threaded adapter

One 4-inch threaded cap

One can of ABS glue

One spin-flint sparker (This is usually found in the camping section at Wal-Mart.  It may be called a lantern starter.)

One broom handle

One mature individual to make sure the gun is not used the wrong way

Tools you may need:

Drill and drill bits

Grinder

Assembling the gun:

Follow the diagram to put the pieces together.  The only tricky part is putting the sparker in.  You may have to grind a flat spot in order to insure that the sparker seats correctly.

Shooting the gun:

This gun is not a toy and should not be treated like one.  Start by putting a potato in the barrel and stuffing it down to within six inches of the firing chamber.  Spray approximately three seconds of hairspray in the firing chamber.  Secure the cap to the back of the firing chamber.  Point the gun in a safe direction.  Spin the sparker.  The potato will go several hundred yards.

Tips and Tricks:

1. Put the sparker in the middle of the four-inch explosion chamber.
2. Do not drench the sparker with hairspray.
3. Wait twenty-four hours to let the glue set before taking your first shot.
4. Grind the end of the barrel so that when you put a potato in the barrel, the end of the barrel is sharp enough to cut off the excess potato.
5. Make sure your potatoes are big enough to provide an airtight seal.
6. Never point your potato canon at people or structures.
7. Make sure the area behind the canon is clear.
8. Using a wad of moist newspaper helps give you an airtight seal. The newspaper does make a mess.

Water Balloon Launcher

What you need:

12 feet of surgical tubing

1 half-gallon plastic funnel

Drill with a 3/8 drill bit

What to Do:

Cut the surgical tubing in half so that you end up with two six-foot pieces.  Drill four holes in the plastic funnel.  The holes should be two to three inches apart.  Feed the surgical tubing through the holes from the inside of the funnel.  This will enable your knots to be on the outside of the funnel.  Next, tie off both lengths of surgical tubing.

Tips and Tricks:

1. Use water balloons the size of an apple.
2. Keep your launcher in a dark place when you are not using it. The sunlight is its worst enemy.
3. Get your surgical tubing from either a medical supply store or a feed store that stocks veterinarian supplies.
4. Water balloon launchers can launch other things as well. Think of the possibilities . . . beanie babies, teddy bears, tennis balls, golf balls, Twinkies, eggs, the list goes on and on.

Chemical Bomb

We used this in an activity called Sandbear Exterminators.  The objective was to knock several stuffed teddy bears off their little perches.  Each contestant was able to place the “bomb” strategically so that he would knock as many bears over as possible.

What you need:

Two-liter plastic bottles

Muriatic acid (found in the pool section of your local hardware store)

Tinfoil

What to do:

Place approximately half a cup of muriatic acid in the two-liter plastic bottle.  Tear off a twelve-inch piece of tinfoil, and crumple it up so that it will fit in the bottle.  Place the tinfoil in the bottle, screw the lid on tight, place the bottle on the ground, and get out of the way.  Stand back twenty yards or so and watch the chemical reaction.  The bottle will grow until suddenly . . . WABOOOM!

Tips and Tricks:

1. Do not breathe the fumes right after the explosion.
2. Seven-Up or Sprite bottles grow bigger than all others.
3. Do not tell your youth what the muriatic acid really is.
4. Prepare all your bottles ahead of time so that all you need to do is drop in the tinfoil.
5. Using smaller plastic bottles decreases the amount of time you have to get out of the way.
6. Be careful.

Mammoth Sparklers

I first saw this done on a lake with several sparklers going at once.  We were singing and sharing testimonies as the sparklers would whirl (kind of our version of a campfire).  Now we do it as our miniature Fourth of July celebration.

What you need:

Metal clamp (like a giant clothespin)

Four to five feet of copper wire

Lighter

Two packs of FINE steel wool

What to do:

Take the copper wire and connect it to the metal clamp.  Take a piece of the steel wool and put it in the metal clamp.  Light a corner of the steel wool.  Spin it around above your head creating a swirling arc of sparks over fifty feet wide.

Tips and Tricks:

1. Trust me . . . steel wool does burn.
2. Use this on a lake and not near the shore.
3. As you twirl the clamp, change the pattern of spinning (i.e. spinning about your head, spinning in front of you, spinning fast, spinning slow).
4. Wear a hat.
5. Be careful . . . it is fire!

Kitty Litter Cake

Here is a fun recipe!  It sounds gross, but kids love it.

Ingredients:

1 spice or German chocolate cake mix

1 white cake mix

1 package white sandwich cookies

1 large package vanilla instant pudding mix

green food coloring

12 small Tootsie Rolls

1 new kitty litter box

1 new kitty litter box plastic liner

1 new pooper scooper

Directions:

1. Prepare cake mixes and bake according to directions (any size pans).
2. Prepare pudding mix and chill until ready to assemble.
3. Crumble white sandwich cookies in small batches in blender. (Because they tend to stick, scrape
   often.)
4. Set aside all but about ¼ cup.
5. To the ¼ cup cookie crumbs, add a few drops of green food coloring.
6. Mix using a fork or shake in a jar.
7. When cakes are cooled to room temperature, crumble into a large bowl.
8. Toss with half the remaining white cookie crumbs and the chilled pudding. You probably will not need all of the pudding; mix it with the cake and feel it. You do not want it soggy, just moist; gently combine.
9. Line new, clean kitty litter box.
10. Put mixture into litter box.
11. Put three unwrapped Tootsie rolls in a microwave-safe dish and heat until soft and pliable.
12. Shape ends so they are no longer blunt, curving slightly.
13. Repeat with three more Tootsie rolls and bury in mixture.
14. Sprinkle the other half of cookie crumbs over the top.
15. Scatter the green cookie crumbs lightly over the top. This is supposed to look like the chlorophyll in kitty litter.
16. Heat the remaining Tootsie Rolls, three at a time in the microwave until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake; sprinkle with cookie crumbs.
17. Spread five of the remaining Tootsie Rolls over the top; take one and heat until pliable and then hang it over the side of the kitty litter box, sprinkling it lightly with cookie crumbs.
18. Place the box on a newspaper and sprinkle a few of the cookie crumbs around.
19. Serve with a new pooper scooper.