Magic Bowling Pin
You will need:
- 2 sheets of A3 card
- 3 plastic bowling pins (the same colour)
- A pair of scissors
- See through sticky tape
- Decorative stickers and tape
A few tips before you start:
The Magic Bowling Pin illusion is done with an audience member. This is really good fun, because they keep getting it wrong…
Making the Magic Bowling Pin illusion is easy enough. You may need to ask a grown up for help with cutting the ‘gimmicked’ skittle.

Step 1:
We are going to start with making the tubes. For this you need one of the A3 sheets of card. Place the skittle on the card and roll the card around it to make a tube (shown in the pictures left).
TIP: Make sure that you roll the card loosely around the skittle to allow it to easily drop out of the tube when you turn it upright.
Step 2:
Using the see-through sticky tape, stick the card down to make the tube and keep it in place.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 & 2 with the second piece of card to make another tube.
Step 4:
Stick some decorative tape around the top and bottom edges of the both the tubes. Use the one colour for the top and bottom of a tube. You can use a different colour for the other tube, as long as the top and bottom of the tube matches.
Step 5:
Now it is time for the arty bit. Decorate your tubes. We chose stickers, but you can paint or draw or decorate the tubes any way you like.
Step 6:
Next we will be making the ‘gimmick’. This bit is a bit tricky and you may need some help here. We are going to cut the ‘neck’ off one of the three skittles.
Getting started is quite difficult. Ask an adult to make a hole so that you can get your scissors into the skittle to do the cutting. You won’t need the ‘neck’ bit, you can throw that away. The bottom bit is the gimmick for this trick.
Well Done!
Now you have your ‘gimmick’ for the Magic Bowling Pin Illusion.
Have fun with your audience and show them what an amazing magician you are!
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