Paper Boomerang

Three blades sandwiched between two circles, with the tips bent slightly up. Put the boomerang on a book so one blade sticks out past the edge, then flick that blade — the boomerang spins, flies off and comes back in an arc.

• Easy
• 12 steps
• 5 pieces
• 2 Letter sheets

Make it with your phone cameraLesson code: 7798

On VanGami the template appears over your sheet through your phone camera — no printer needed. Trace it, cut, fold and glue. Below are all the steps in text.

What you’ll need

• 2 Letter sheets — office paper, 80 gsm (20 lb)
• Markers
• Pencil — and eraser
• Scissors — small
• Glue stick — or PVA glue
• Book — hardcover — the launch pad
• Glass — phone stand

Steps

Trace

1. Sturdy sheet from two. Apply glue stick over the whole surface of a sheet of printer paper, press a second sheet onto it, and smooth with your palm from the middle to the edges. You'll get a thick sheet — work on that one. Put it back in the same spot, edge to edge; don't move the phone.
2. Outlines. Trace the three blades and the two circles with a solid line. The pointed corner of each blade is its root: the three roots will meet in the middle.
3. Fold. Across each blade, near the rounded end, there’s a dash-dot line: you’ll bend the tip up along it.
4. Markings and design. On the blades there’s an arc near the root that shows how far the circle reaches. One circle has three rays from the center — the blades will lie along them. The other circle has a swirl design.

Color

5. Color. Color the blades orange, and the tips and chevrons yellow. Swirl circle: yellow background, orange swirl, black center. Don’t color the circle with the rays.

Cut

6. Cut out: boomerang — 5 pcs. Cut out the three blades and the two circles. Cut the circles by turning the paper, not the scissors — the edge will come out smooth.

Glue

7. Glue on the circle with rays. Lay the circle rays up and spread glue over its whole front side.
8. Three blades along the rays. Lay the blades design side up along the rays: the pointed roots meet in the middle, and the arc on each blade lines up with the edge of the circle.
9. Swirl circle on top. Put glue on the back of the swirl circle and press it down on top, exactly over the bottom one. Hold for 10 seconds: the blades must be clamped tight.

Fold

10. Tips up. Bend the tip of each blade up along the dashed line, just a tiny bit — by 15–20°. Do all three the same.

Launch

11. Boomerang on the book. Put the boomerang on the book design side up so that one blade sticks out past the edge by two or 1⅛ in.
12. Flick. Sharply flick it with your fingernail on the edge of the blade that sticks out — forward, like flicking a crumb off the table. The boomerang will spin, fly off and come back in an arc: catch it.

Done. Your boomerang is done. Flick it sharply but not too hard — and catch it when it comes back. If it doesn’t come back, bend the tips up a little more.

Make it with your phone camera

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