How to Make Paper Pinwheels

Make these beautiful and easy pinwheels to celebrate on a holiday, to decorate for a party, or just anytime you want a fun craft!

Here's what you'll need:
* Construction paper or colored office paper
* Ruler
* Scissors
* Straight pin
* Pencil
* Wooden dowel or straw
* Bead and glue (optional)
* Stickers, markers, or paint (optional)

Start by choosing what colors you want for your pinwheel. Your pinwheel will be most dramatic and interesting-looking if you use paper that's a contrasting color on the back side. (If you don't have two-color paper, you can glue two pieces of different colors to each other. Let them dry before you go on.)

Cut a six inch by six inch square from your paper.

Lay your square flat on the table and lay the ruler diagonally (corner to corner) across the square. Draw a line with your pencil from corner to corner, using the edge of the ruler to keep your line straight. Make a mark three inches in from each corner. Then move the ruler to the other two corners and repeat the process. Notice that the lines cross. That'll be important later.

Now that all four corners have three inch marks on them, cut along the lines with your scissors. Be careful to only cut to the end of each three inch mark, and not past them. (The middle should not be cut at all.)

Make a hole with your pin in the center of your square, where the pencil lines cross. Next, poke a hole in one of the eight corner flaps. Then go around the other seven flaps, poking a hole in every other flap. (You should end up with four flap holes and one center hole.)

Next, thread your pin through all four flaps, and then the center hole. Then push the pin's point into your dowel or straw securely. If your pin has a big head, it will make a nice head for your pinwheel. If your pin is too plain, you can dress it up by gluing a bead to the pin's head. (Just be careful not to get glue on the paper part, since that could keep your pinwheel from spinning freely.)

Blow gently at the center of your pinwheel (right at the pinhead) and it will start to spin! You can also push the handle of the dowel (or straw) into the ground outside, so that the breeze will make it spin. Remember that paper is damaged by water, so bring your pinwheel inside at night to avoid dew, and don't use it when rain is coming.

You can also set up your pinwheel inside. Tape the handle to the edge of your desk, or a bed post, near an air vent. Every time the heat or air conditioning comes on, it will make your pinwheel spin!
You can make pinwheels in colors to celebrate a holiday, or to match the theme colors of a party, or in your school's colors. If you want to, you can also decorate your pinwheels with stickers, markers, or paints. Pinwheels make great decorations and can be given to your guests as party favors to take home.

Have fun with them!