‘How-to’ Experiment: Make an Awesome Bat Center-of-Gravity Wing!
A completed project, ready to amaze you and your friends!
By Jeffrey Bishop
Two cents and a handful of common household supplies — plus our nifty template — and you, too, can make this awesome bat- or more traditional bird-shaped center-of-gravity wing!
Noting that this is not at all a spooky campfire story, it’s nonetheless a cool project that we think will appeal to the same audience as our readership. Plus, making a bat wing is kinda spooky!
This project can be used to partially complete Webelos Scientist requirement 11; indeed, it was inspired by the experiment on page 423 of the current Webelos book.
Click here to download the printable bird- and bat-shaped Center of Gravity Wing Templates.
Instructions
1. Print and cut out template
2. Trace template onto poster board / card stock
3. Cut out and decorate
4. Affix pennies to wing tips
5. Balance the nose of the bat on your finger, a pencil eraser, the corner of a table or a similar point
7. To learn more, try some of the experiments listed at the end of this post
6. Enjoy!
Supplies
• This template
• Scissors
• Pencil or pen
• Poster board / card stock
• Pennies
• Tape or glue
• Markers or paint
Tips
• Use your first card stock wing as a durable template for others
• Used cereal boxes work great
• Use painter’s tape to test different coin locations before permanently securing them
• Use hot glue or epoxy to secure pennies to wings
Experiments
• What effect does using a lighter coin have? What effect does using a heavier coin cause?
• How does the location of the coin affect the center of gravity?
THE END
Copyright 2012
Fear Naught Tales 
You have got probably the greatest online websites.
Wow — whaddya say in response to that? Very proud and glad to please you, amongst a few discerning, intelligent folks out in Internet-land : ). Hope you keep reading, because we’ll keep writing!
Thank you so much for the templates.Teaching a class for Cub Scouts (5th grade Webelos)to earn their Scientist Activity Badge. Will pass along to other leaders this link!
Great! Your group of boys is exactly who we created this for (but others — grown ups and siblings as well — can do this project and have fun with it, too)!
You might want to also visit the Scouter’s Corner category (see links to the right) for Pinewood Derby design templates and a project for carving neckerchief slides.
Thanks for visiting!
We have found — contrary to our presupposition — that using a lighter weight cardstock allows the wings to sag down and forward, creating a more three-dimensional appearance, enhanced reality of flight (of flapping wings) and better balance!