Wire Rocket Game

YOU WILL NEED:

• 1.5L Fizzy drink bottle
• A thin wire, 13m long
• Wire cutters/pliers
• A bungy cord (with hooks on the ends)
• 3 wooden stakes
• Balloons
• Rocket decorations (optional)
• A tree or fence

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut two 10cm lengths off your piece of wire, put these aside for now. Using the remainder of your wire, attach one end to a tree/fence (or other tall backyard object). The wire needs to be about 1.5m above the ground and able to be pulled tight.
   
2. Then you need to puncture two holes in your bottle, one in the middle of the cap, and one directly below in the base of the bottle. These need to be large enough for the wire to thread through. A drill, or hammer and nail work well for making the holes.

3. Decorate your bottle if desired. Lengths of red and orange ribbons (or crepe paper) look good dangling off the base.
   
4. Now using the two short bits of wire that you had put aside, wrap them around the bottleneck (one at a time) so that a few centimeters of wire at each end sticks forward of the bottle cap (you should have 4 spikes sticking forward).

5. Thread the long wire through the bottle, so that the cap of the battle will be facing the tree and that the end of the wire comes out of the base.
   
6. Attach the end of the wire to one of the wooden stakes, then hammer it into the ground so that the wire comes down from the tree diagonally and is pulled very tightly.

7. Take the other two stakes and hammer them about 30cms either side of the wire and forward of the other stake by about 40cm.
   
8. Attach each end of the bungy cord to the stakes – it should be stretched tightly, if not, adjust the distance of the stakes. Make sure the bungy cord passes above the wire.

9. Blow up a couple of balloons and attach them to the tree where the wire is attached.
   
10. Place the middle of the bungy cord behind the base of the bottle and pull backwards; when enough tension is created, release the cord. This should spring forward, firing the bottle along the wire.
    
11. The wimmer of the game is whoever pops the balloons at the end first.