Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate 

Air Vortex Cannon

Suggested Grades: 3-8

Activity Overview

An air vortex is a spinning mass of air and is created by 

an airplane’s wing. In this activity, you will build an air 

vortex cannon that creates a blast of air. 

Note: For this activity you will be making a hole in the 

bottom of a cup. You may need to ask an adult to help 

you with this. It also might be helpful to have someone 

else help you stretch and tape the balloon to the cup.

Steps

1. Begin by gathering the materials you will need as shown in figure 1.

Figure 1. Gather the materials needed for this activity.

2. In the bottom of the cup, cut a hole as shown in figure 2. The hole should remove 

approximately 3⁄4 of the cup’s bottom.

Figure 2. Cut a hole in the bottom of the cup.

Time: 45 minutes

Materials

• Plastic Cup

• Balloon

• Tape – strong tape, such as duct 

tape, works best

• Scissors
3. Blow up the balloon and then let the air back out of it. This helps loosen up the 

balloon.

4. Tie the bottom of the deflated balloon as shown in figure 3.

Figure 3. Tie the bottom of the deflated balloon.

5. Cut of the top third of the balloon as shown in figure 4. Discard the top third (the 

portion of the balloon that is not tied).

Figure 4. Cut off the top 1/3 of the balloon.

6. Stretch the balloon over the top of the cup. Make sure the end that has been tied is facing 

outside the cup as shown in figure 5.

Figure 5. Stretch the balloon over the top of the cup.
7. Secure the balloon to the cup using the tape as shown in figure 6. It might be helpful to 

have someone help hold the balloon while you secure the tape.

Figure 6. Use the tape to secure the balloon to the cup.

That’s it! To operate the air vortex cannon, hold the cup in one hand. With the other 

hand, pull back on the tied part of the balloon as shown in figure 7. Release the balloon 

and a blast of air comes out of the opening in the bottom on the cup.

Figure 7. Pull back the tied part of the balloon and then release.

Have fun experimenting with your air vortex cannon! Try pulling the balloon more or less to 

see how it affects the air blast. Come up with a way to see how far the blast of air goes. You 

can also get another cup and try making a different sized hole in the bottom. Does the size of 

the hole affect the air blast? 

Try setting up small paper tents or other lightweight items and see if you can knock these over 

with a blast of air.

Why this works: When you pull the balloon back, you are pulling more air inside the cup. When 

you let go, the air is quickly pushed towards the bottom of the cup. The air in the middle of the 

cup travels faster than the air near the outside of the cup. This produces a difference in air 

pressure which is why the air vortex is created.
Background Information

Have you ever seen an airplane wing that 

has the ends of the wings bent upwards? 

These are called winglets and were 

developed by NASA and its partners. 

They can now be found on many different 

types of airplanes around the world.

A large part of NASA’s mission is helping 

protect the environment. Making more 

fuel efficient airplanes is an important part 

of this. To increase efficiency, NASA 

studies the movement of air around the 

wings of airplanes, including air vortexes 

created when air flows over the wing.

Winglets help reduce the vortexes created at the ends of airplane wings, making the airplane more 

efficient. As a result, the planes burn less fuel and give off less harmful emissions. 

Figure 8. Winglets help reduce air vortexes.