Make a balloon hovercraft Follow FizzicsEd 150 Science Experiments: Comments 0 You will need: A CD that you don’t mind being wrecked A pop-top bottle lid (sports drinks & various juice companies sell bottles with these lids) A balloon A hot glue gun and adult supervision A4 paper or mat that you can do craft on Safety glasses Copyright Written by Fizzics Education. Reviewed by Ben Newsome CF. Cite this experiment Instruction 1 Use the hot glue gun to connect the pop-top bottle lid to the CD. Make sure that you keep this lid centred to the CD as much as possible. 2 Once the hot glue has cooled and dried, press the sports drink lid down so that the valve is shut inside the lid. 3 Blow up a balloon and then attach it to the pop-top bottle lid. 4 As the valve is closed, the air should not rush out of the balloon whilst attached to the lid. 5 Open the lid valve and give your balloon hovercraft a little push. You should see it glide across the desk easily! 6 Go further – buy 4 x student activity sheets as extension worksheets. This student science booklet has been created by experienced science educators from the Fizzics Education team. Use these student worksheets as blackline masters for your science class! See all student sheets here 7 School science visits since 2004! – Curriculum-linked & award-winning incursions. – Over 40 primary & high school programs to choose from. – Designed by experienced educators. – Over 2 million students reached. – Face to face incursions & online programs available. – Early learning centre visits too! 8 Online courses for teachers & parents – Help students learn how science really works What is going on? You reduced friction! Friction is the force that exists between two objects and is influenced by the amount of contact between the two surfaces as well as the pressure between them. Even smooth surfaces have microscopic “peaks and valleys” that catch on each other. Friction always acts in the opposite direction to movement and causes objects to slow down by turning motion into heat. The air thrust from the balloon pushes the hovercraft’s mass away from the table, thereby reducing the friction between the CD and the table. Your balloon hovercraft continues to be able to slide across a desk or smooth floor as long as there is enough air pressure in the balloon to hold the CD up from the surface. This simple experiment is just a miniature version of what occurs with commercial hovercrafts, whereby industrial fans introduce tremendous amounts of force to hold up the hovercraft. Road safety application Contact with the ground is essential for tyres to be safe, allowing you to control your vehicle. The tread of your tyre is designed to disperse water whilst keeping your tyre in constant contact with the road. The greater the contact, the greater the frictional forces. You can lose control of your vehicle if you lose contact, and therefore friction, with the road. This often occurs when a car aquaplanes, whereby water is forced under the wheels which reduces tyre contact to the road and reduces your ability to steer or brake your vehicle. Variables to test Volume Does the size of the balloon or the volume of air inside change how long it hovers? Surface Texture What happens when you make the surface rougher, like moving from a desk to a carpet? Base Material Can you create the same effect with something other than a CD, like a paper plate or plastic lid? Weight How much extra mass can the air cushion support before friction takes over again? Hovercraft being used during a Fizzics science show! Going further Liquids can slide on pockets of gas too. During our liquid nitrogen show, we demonstrate the Leidenfrost effect which in a way emulates hovercrafts. In this case, we show rapidly boiling liquid nitrogen droplets sliding along a smooth surface due to the gas trapped beneath each droplet caused during the rapid boiling. This vapour layer acts as a lubricant, preventing the liquid from touching the floor and allowing it to skip along with almost zero resistance. This can be quite a spectacular effect! âś… Reviewed: April 5, 2026 APA 7 Citation: Fizzics Education. (2020). Make a balloon hovercraft. https://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/150-science-experiments/force-movement-experiments/make-a-balloon-hovercraft/ Copy APA Citation Reviewer This resource was last reviewed for scientific accuracy on April 5, 2026. Ben Newsome CF is the recipient of the 2023 UTS Chancellor’s Award for Excellence and a Churchill Fellow. He is a global leader in science communication and the founder of Fizzics Education. Learn more! Forces, Friction & Movement Years K to 6 Maximum 30 students School workshop 60 or 90 minutes Online Class Available Read More Enquire Now Big Science Big Fun Show K to 6 For large audiences School science show 60 minutes Read More Enquire Now Liquid Nitrogen Show Years K to 6 Maximum 60 students Science show 45 minutes Online Class Available Read More Enquire Now STEM Full Day Accelerator - Primary Designed from real classroom experiences, this modular day helps you create consistently effective science learning that directly address the new curriculum with easily accessible and cost-effective materials. Read More Enquire Now
Use the hot glue gun to connect the pop-top bottle lid to the CD. Make sure that you keep this lid centred to the CD as much as possible.
Once the hot glue has cooled and dried, press the sports drink lid down so that the valve is shut inside the lid.
Open the lid valve and give your balloon hovercraft a little push. You should see it glide across the desk easily!
Go further – buy 4 x student activity sheets as extension worksheets. This student science booklet has been created by experienced science educators from the Fizzics Education team. Use these student worksheets as blackline masters for your science class! See all student sheets here
School science visits since 2004! – Curriculum-linked & award-winning incursions. – Over 40 primary & high school programs to choose from. – Designed by experienced educators. – Over 2 million students reached. – Face to face incursions & online programs available. – Early learning centre visits too!
Forces, Friction & Movement Years K to 6 Maximum 30 students School workshop 60 or 90 minutes Online Class Available Read More Enquire Now
Big Science Big Fun Show K to 6 For large audiences School science show 60 minutes Read More Enquire Now
Liquid Nitrogen Show Years K to 6 Maximum 60 students Science show 45 minutes Online Class Available Read More Enquire Now
STEM Full Day Accelerator - Primary Designed from real classroom experiences, this modular day helps you create consistently effective science learning that directly address the new curriculum with easily accessible and cost-effective materials. Read More Enquire Now
Designed from real classroom experiences, this modular day helps you create consistently effective science learning that directly address the new curriculum with easily accessible and cost-effective materials.
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