Last Updated on 03/09/2018 by Mark Beckenbach
Whether this project is a fun use of your empty plastic film canisters, we let you decide.
Got a bunch of those plastic film canisters lying around? The most resourceful of film photographers have found a bunch of uses for these typically discarded items. What the video tutorials you’re about to watch, however, may only be particularly useful if you’re an incredibly bored film photographer. It could be fun, though. Somewhat.
In the quick video below by CrazyRussianHacker, you’ll learn how to make film canister rockets by using just a handful items: some empty plastic canisters, a few Alka-Seltzer tablets, and some water. Yep, you might have already guessed what’s going to happen, but we’ll let you watch it anyway.
And there you have it. It’s a cool mini science experiment to show the kids how the reaction between the Alka-Seltzer tablet and water brings about the mini-explosion. Carbon dioxide produced by the tablet builds pressure, which eventually pops it off. The key here is to flip the canister upside down as soon as you close the lid to get it flying up into the air like a rocket.
Maybe this is one fun project you can try before you throw away those canisters or use them for something else entirely. Or, maybe this could be a party trick to try for your next film photography event. If you really want to take it seriously, why not build a rig to make 3,000 of them and make it rain film canisters — like they did on The Ellen Show. We kid you not, it really happened. Watch the fun experiment below:
But yeah, you have to be a really, really, really bored film photographer with a big bunch of film canisters lying around to set that up!
Not fun enough? You might want to try out some of the other photography-related DIY projects we found, like a DIY softbox or a DIY 8×10 camera!