Make a spinning paper helicopter with this super easy and creative STEAM craft for kids! It is a great for engineering craft for kids to try!

Check out my crafting short form TV series here:

Making STEAM Crafts

Making paper planes was one of my favourite things to do as a kid. My father owned a printing business back before the internet and so I grew up surrounded by paper. The absolute easiest thing to make as a kid were paper planes. But today I am going to show you how to make a paper helicopter. Something I never did as a kid but I know I would have loved!

How to Make A Spinning Paper Helicopter

1. Fold a sheet of paper in half and cut.
2. Fold the resulting piece of paper in half again lengthwise and cut.
3. If you are using white printer paper, now is the time to decorate your helicopter with pencil crayons or oil pastels. Color carefully so that you don’t damage the paper.
4. Once you’re done, turn the paper over and fold it in half lengthwise but don’t press hard. Crease just the edges so you know where to draw the line.
5. Draw a line down the center of the paper using a ruler.
6. Fold the top 1/3 part of the paper down.
7. Unfold the paper, and cut down the line as far as the fold. These will be the helicopter blades.
8. Measure and draw a line just below the fold about 1 cm or 1/2 inch down.
9. Draw marks on the line half way between the middle of the paper and each edge.
10. Cut in from each edge to the half way mark.
11. Fold one edge of the bottom of the paper in towards the middle pencil line. Fold in the other side. Crease the folds well.
12. Fold the bottom of the paper up towards the bottom of the blades.
13. Attach a paper clip to the bottom of the paper.
14. Fold back one of the blades in one direction and the other blade in the opposite direction.
15. Throw your helicopter in the air and watch it spin slowly to the ground!

Let’s Talk Science: Behind the Spinning Paper Helicopter

There are a couple of forces involved here. First, the helicopter is falling towards the ground because of gravity. But it doesn’t fall like a rock or book would, it slowly depends and lands gently on the ground. Why?

As the helicopter falls, air hits the blades. The blades force the air to move out to one side. This allows the helicopter to slowly comes down. Each blade is pushing the air equally but in opposite directions causing the helicopter to spin.

STEAM Challenge

• Change the direction of the blades.
• Make a bigger helicopter or smaller one.
• Test what happens when you add two paper clips or even a coin inside

Love this craft? Check out my new book STEAM Crafts for Kids coming out November 29, 2022. It has tons more easy STEAM crafts kids can make!

Age Suitability

This activity is good for kids 5 years and up. My kids are 4, 4, and 8 year old.

Mess Level

This is a mess level is low.

Difficulty to Create

Easy to Medium.

Skills Developed in Spinning Paper Helicopter

STEAM learning, language development, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, imaginative play, creativity.

Supplies for Spinning Paper Helicopter

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• Paper (white paper if you want to decorate it or construction paper)
• Oil pastels or pencil crayons
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Paperclip

Looking for more summer activity ideas? Check out of these other round-ups for more ways to stay busy this summer:

1. 40+ Fun & Easy Summer Crafts for Kids
2. 25+ Outdoor Water Activities to Keep Kids Cool This Summer
3. 40+ Awesome Outdoor Learning Activities for Kids
4. 30+ Easy Outdoor Art Projects for Kids
5. 60+ Awesome Outdoor Activities for Kids
6. 45+ Awesome Water Sensory Bins for Toddlers & Preschoolers
7. 40+ Water Table Activities for Toddlers
8. 21+ Spray Bottle Activities for Toddler
9. 20 Amazing Backyard Obstacle Courses
10. 21+ Amazing Summer Sensory Bins
11. 40+ Ice Sensory Play
12. 12 Healthy Smoothie Recipes for Toddlers + Kids

Check out My Books & TV Show!

Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids

Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon. 

Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.

Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids

Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more. 

TV Show: Curious Crafting

I’m so excited to finally share my new crafting TV show CURIOUS CRAFTING which launched July 1 TVOkids and TVOKids YouTube! You can watch all the episodes here!

This show is all about fun and easy crafts for toddlers and preschoolers. 

Set in the ultimate crafting space, Curious Crafting is a short form pre-school age series about the joy of making crafts. I lead a rotating cast of adorable little preschoolers (including my own) making magic out of common household objects.

In each episode we transform recycled items into magical crafts like a milk carton school bus, paper bag puppet or cotton pad turtle. The crafters learn and laugh their way through each activity while demonstrating what their young imaginations can create. 

Curious Crafting shares the adventure and joy of making art with takeaway lessons for creating crafts at home.

Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids – coming out September 27, 2022

Book: STEAM Crafts for Kids – coming out November 29, 2022

WILL YOU TRY MAKING A SPINNING PAPER HELICOPTER WITH YOUR KIDS? PIN IT FOR LATER.