Fireworks Safety Tips

• Fireworks are not toys.
• Always leave fireworks to trained professionals. That means sparklers too, which can reach over 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. (Wow, that's hot!)
  
• Attend only public fireworks displays put on by trained professionals and stay back at least 500 feet from the display. (Besides being the safer way to see fireworks, public fireworks displays are more spectacular than anything you'll see at home.)
  
• If you or your friends find fireworks, don't pick them up; tell a grown-up right away.

Can't get to the fireworks? These cool July 4th bags light up your front yard. You can also use them to decorate your yard for the 4th of July cook-out.

What you need:
Scissors
Tissue paper, red and blue
Brown-paper lunch bags
Star-shaped stickers
Sand
Glow stick (you can find these at party stores)

What to do:
1. Draw stars on your red and blue tissue paper. Cut out stars. Ask a grown-up to help with the scissors.

2. Glue the stars to the lunch bags. You can also add other star-shaped stickers on the inside.

3. Fill each bag with 2 to 3 inches of sand and stick a glow stick into the sand. Place the bags in the front yard or on your deck or anywhere you want to light up the night..

Virtual Fireworks:

Ever want to make your own virtual fireworks display?
Here is your chance -- click here.

July 4th Shaker
Shake things up with your very own Fourth of July Shaker.

What you need: paper towel tube or Pringles© can, two 1 1/2 inch-wide cardboard circles, small rocks or pebbles, ribbon (red, white or blue), crayons, markers, tape, scissors

What to do:

• Fill the paper towel tube with your rocks. (If you are using a Pringles can just put the lid on and cover the tube with a clean piece of paper and you are ready to go.)
  
• Then seal the tube by taping the cardboard circles to the ends.
  
• Decorate the tube with markers or crayons (remember it is the 4th of July so make it patriotic).
• Attach ribbons to each side of the tube with tape.

Mini Idea:
To make a MINI July 4th shaker, use an empty film canister
instead of a Pringles can.

" Sparky's Sparkling Sparkler"

What you need: pipe cleaners (red, white, and blue, of course), glue, glitter, and scissors

What to do:

• Cut two of the pipe cleaners into four pieces.
  
• Roll the eight pipe cleaner pieces in glue and cover them with glitter. When the glue is dry, glue the glitter-covered pieces onto the third, whole pipe cleaner.
  
• Let the sparkling sparkler dry.
  
• Make a bang at all your Fourth of July activities with your great, and safe, Sparky Sparkling Sparkler.