Make a paper spinner
Cut and fold a small paper spinner, let it fall, and try a shape of your own.
About this project
Two folded paper flaps catch the air as this shape falls. They are its blades. Your spinner might spin, drift, or tumble. Keep a version you like, then make another if you want a different journey.
Supplies
Materials & tools
- A strip of ordinary scrap paper, about 4 × 15 cm
- Suitable scissors and a pencil
- A ruler if you want to mark the starting shape; approximate folds work too
Before you start
- Clear a patch of floor away from stairs and people passing through. Drop the paper from a comfortable seated or standing reach; there is no need to climb.
- Use suitable scissors with support as needed. Pick up scraps before they make the floor slippery.
Instructions
Mark the two blades
Lay the strip flat with a 4 cm edge at the top. Mark the middle of this edge, 2 cm from either side. Draw a line straight down from that mark for 7 cm. Mark where the line ends. The two pieces beside this line will become the blades.
Cut the line
Cut down the line from the top edge. Stop at the end mark. Leave the bottom 8 cm uncut so the two blades stay joined to one body.
Fold the blades and narrow the body
Bend one blade forward and the other backward. Each should stick out sideways from the body, like opposite arms of a T. Now fold the long sides of the uncut lower part inward. Fold one side about a third of the way across, then fold the other side over it to make a narrow body. Keep these folds below the blades. Fold the bottom 1 cm upward to help hold the body together.
CutFoldCut down the middle of the top half. Fold one flap toward you and the other away. Fold the lower strip into a narrow stem, then fold its bottom upward. Let it fall
Hold the narrow bottom between two fingers, with the blades above it. Lift it over your clear patch of floor and open your fingers. Do not throw it. Watch it fall. Try a few drops before changing a fold.
Keep a shape you like
Draw or mark this version before changing it, if you want to find it again. Try longer blades, a wider paper strip, or the blade folds turned the other way. You can aim for a spin, a drift, or a tumble you like.
Troubleshooting
- It drops without spinning much.
- Check that one blade folds forward and the other backward. Both need to stick out from the body. Try a few drops without throwing. A very short fall gives it little time to turn.
- It tumbles end over end.
- Try making the folded body narrower or making the two blades closer to the same size. Another kind of paper may move differently too. Change one thing and see what it does, if that interests you.
- The paper tears.
- Start another strip or try dropping the torn shape. Tape can repair it, but tape also adds weight and changes how it bends.
Where to take it next
- Reverse both blade folds and watch which way it turns.
- Make a pair from different kinds of scrap paper and choose how you want to compare them.
- Draw on the blades to make the rotation visible, or design a shape meant to drift rather than spin.
A closer look
As the paper falls, air pushes against the folded blades. With the blades bent in opposite directions, those pushes can turn the spinner. The narrow body hangs below. Paper, folds, and moving air all affect its journey. You can follow what yours does rather than trying to get one exact result.
What happens if…
- Can you make it turn the other way?
- What would make a more interesting journey?
- Which fold would you change next?
What it needs to do
A function can have more than one solution. These options belong to this example; try alternatives thoughtfully.
rotor
Use small, lightweight pieces. Paper thickness and flap shape may change spinning and tumbling.
cutting
Suitable scissors make flap shapes; tearing a small strip is another idea to explore if scissors are unavailable.