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Craft Corner: How to Build Your Own Snowball Throwing Machine

Who's ready for an indoor snowball fight?

By Beth Marketos, Publisher's Assistant | Macaroni Kid Downtown Denver February 3, 2021

Are you tired of hearing "Mom, I'm bored!"? I know I sure am!  

We have discovered a great way to have a safe indoor snowball fight that will keep the kids busy. An indoor snowball fight? No actual snow required? Yes, please!    

There is a little bit of easy engineering involved to build your own snowball throwing machine (aka catapult). Once your machine is built, the kids can fire away with confidence knowing no one will get cold or hurt from a hard packed snowball hitting them.   

It's great fun for parents too! Let's get building! 


STEP ONE Gather your supplies

  • 5 or more craft sticks
  • 3 rubber bands
  • 1 plastic spoon
  • A supply of cotton balls or pom poms

STEP TWO – Stack your sticks

  • Take 5 sticks and stack them, securing one end with a rubber band. 
  • You'll need to wrap the rubber band around several times to make it nice and secure. 
  • You can play with your throwing distance by adding more sticks to the stack in this step.

STEP THREE – Make a + sign

  • Slide last stick between the bottom stick and the rest of the stack so that it sticks out on either side of the stack.  It should look like a plus (+) sign

STEP FOUR – Secure the + sign

  • Secure the other end of the stack with a rubber band.

STEP FIVE – Attach the spoon

  • Line the spoon up (on top of the stack) with the single stick.
  • Attach the end of the spoon to one end of the single stick with the last rubber band.
  • Make it nice and tight.

STEP SIX – Fire away!

Place the cotton ball or pompom on the spoon and FIRE AWAY! (To fire, press down slightly on the tip of the spoon and release.)


Now that you have built your snow throwing machines, you can:

❄️ Have a snowball fight!

❄️ Make your own snowball obstacle course!

❄️ Compete in snowball races!

❄️ Create another kit to share!

Whatever you choose to do with your snow throwing machine, you'll be sure to have a blizzard of fun!