How are fireworks and gunpowder made? | 14-16 years

A photograph showing red, orange and blue fireworks during a night-time display.

Source: © Erika Eros / EyeEm / Getty Images

Explore how fireworks and gunpowder are made using a mixture of chemicals in this lesson plan and directed activity related to text (DART) for 14–16 year olds.

In this directed activity related to text (DART), students discover what is behind the explosive power of fireworks. The activity provides opportunities for group discussion, role play, historical research and empathetic writing through the eyes of a fictional child worker (Alice) in a blackpowder (gunpowder) factory.

Through this activity, students will recognise that:

The explosive called blackpowder, or gunpowder, is made from a mixture of chemicals.
Making blackpowder often used to involve unpleasant working conditions.

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