Turkey Balloon Races Game – FUN November Activities for Kids

You’ve got to try turkey balloon races! This turkey race game is both an outrageously fun Thanksgiving activities and a chance to sneak in  Fall STEM Activities! Start by making an easy balloon turkey craft with your toddler, preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, and 6th grade students. Then it’s time for our balloon turkey race that teaches a little physics while having FUN! This turkey race for kids is perfect for at home with the whole family or in the classroom for some November learning. Ready, set, go for our thanksgiving balloon activity!

turkey balloon races

You’ve got to try turkey balloon races! This turkey race game is not just an outrageously fun Thanksgiving activity, it also sneakily incorporates Fall STEM activities that are perfect for kids of all ages. Imagine starting your Thanksgiving celebrations by making an easy balloon turkey craft with your toddlers, preschoolers, or older students up to 6th grade. It’s a wonderful way to get creative while teaching them about the holiday.

Once your balloon turkeys are ready, it’s time for the real excitement – the balloon turkey race! This is where the fun doubles as a learning opportunity. Kids will not only enjoy racing their colorful creations, but they’ll also engage with basic principles of physics such as air pressure, propulsion, and motion. You might be surprised at how much they can learn while simply enjoying a lively competition with family or classmates.

This turkey race is perfect to set up at home, bringing the whole family together for some Thanksgiving fun, or for teachers looking to add a festive twist to the classroom. It encourages teamwork, friendly competition, and provides an opportunity for students to express their ideas. As they cheer each other on and watch their balloon turkeys zoom across the finish line, they won’t even realize they’re learning vital STEM concepts.

So gather your supplies, get those creative juices flowing, and prepare for a Thanksgiving activity that promises laughter, learning, and lots of memories.

We have lots more thanksgiving activities for preschoolers, fun preschool science, and cute preschool crafts to choose from! Plus don’t miss construction paper turkey, easy paper plate thanksgiving crafts for preschoolers, and thanksgiving books for preschoolers

turkey balloon race

All you need to try this clever turkey activity are a few simple materials you probabaly already have at home:

• balloon (we used a brown one)
• string
• tape
• construction paper (purple, yellow, orange, red)
• extra large straw (any color)
• XL google eyes
• clothespins
• scissors

turkey race game

To prep this turkey game, you will need to cut out turkey feathers from construction paper. We used 8 feathers per turkey balloon and we raced 2 turkeys for a total of 16 feathers (give or take)

turkey balloon rockets

Now cut out the orange beak and red wattle from construction paper.

balloon turkey craft

Now blow up your balloon until it is VERY full and clip with a clothespin to hold the air in, but do NOT tie off the balloon! Now affix with tape the XL google eyes, orange beak, and red wattle to turn your balloon into a turkey.

balloon turkey race

Now tape the feathers around the turkey to make a semi circle of pretty,colorful feathers. The tureky feather plumage definetly makes the turkey!

turkey race for kids

The last step in preparing for your turkey science experiment is to tape a straw horizontally along the top of your turkey’s balloon body. I suggest using an extra wide straw as it is easier to thread and flies more easily.

turkey balloon craft

attach a string to one side of your space. This turkey race works indoors or outdoors assuming it is not too blustery of a day. We attached our ends to chairs, but you can tape onto a wall, or whatever other surface you like. The balloons aren’t heavy.

Now put the string through the straw on top of your turkey and then attach the other side to another chair or similar. The rope course can be as long or short as you like. We did it so it was about 10 feet part.

Repeat with a 2nd turkey and it’s own rope next to the previous turkey if you’d like to race the balloons. My kids LOVED racing each other =)

the great turkey race activities

When you are ready to race, start the turkeys on the same end of the rope and when you say GO, they will release the clothespin, allowing the air to escape and propelling the turkeys forward to race.

thanksgiving balloon activity

As the turkeys race to the other side of the rope they will let out all the air trapped in the balloon and end up looking rather silly.

thanksgiving science experiments

So, what is the science part of this silly, fun turkey activity? These balloon races are about understanding the principles of physics, and since this activity is aimed at preschoolers to elementary students we will keep the physics simple. This Turkey Balloon Race is a simple action-reaction experiment.

When you blow up the balloon you are filling it up with air that is under pressure. When the air escapes from the balloon (when you let go of it) the escaping air exerts thrust or force on the balloon which propels it forward. The air escapes backward – the balloon races forward. Action – reaction.

You can always take it a step further:

• ask the kids to make a hypothesis which one will win
• have the turkey race again trying to improve their speed by altering their design
• try making one balloon extra plump with more air and the other turkey smaller with less air; which one do you think will win now?
• read a Plump and Perky Turkey as an extension of other turkeys who flew the cope before Thanksgiving