Each group needs:

• ~5 ft (1.5 m) of string (can be whatever type of string is on hand)
• paper cups or plastic cups (Note: smaller cups work better and though we used paper cups, sometimes paper cups self-heal, which can cause problems.)
• watered down paint (A 1:1 ratio works well, and washable acrylic paint worked best. Be sure to do a test run with the paint before trying the activity with students.)
• 4 pieces of paper
• 1 hole punch (for creating holes in the sides of cups)
• 1 stopwatch
• butcher paper, cardboard or newspaper (i.e., something to catch the mess)
• access to two supports of equal height (e.g., chairs, ring stands [retort stands] with utility clamps, support stands with crossbars, two desks or tables placed a short distance apart, music stands)
•  (optional) washable plastic boards

Note: For less permanent artwork, you can use sand (or flour) on cardboard or plastic instead of paint. The sand can be gathered and reused each time.

For the entire class to share:

• 1 laptop or tablet with projector (to display movie)
• 1 screwdriver or something else to poke holes in the bottom of the cups (we recommend this as a teacher task)