Activity: Create a noisemaker

What you need

A sheet of A4 paper.

What to do

1. Fold the ends of the paper in by a few centimetres

2. Fold the whole sheet in half: The two folds at the ends should now be tucked inside the main fold. You are now ready to make noise!

How to use your noisemaker

Hold the folded sheet with the main fold at the top. Take the bottom corners between your thumb and first finger, lift up to shoulder height and then jerk your hand down sharply. The fold at the opposite end will pop out and make a loud noise!

What is going on?

Whenever something moves through the air, the air will push back on it. This is called air resistance. The faster it moves, the greater the air resistance becomes.

When you move your noisemaker through the air, the force of the air resistance makes the folds at the end open out. As they unfold, the air pushes on them more, which makes them fold out faster. This makes the air push on them even more, and so on. When they have completely unfolded, they can’t move anymore and stop suddenly. This causes vibrations in the paper, making the snapping sound.