Part 1 · Anatomy
Inside an Aerial Shell
Every sky-filling explosion starts life as a humble ball of paper, string and glue — an aerial shell. Packed inside is everything the show needs: the fuel to fly, the timer, the bomb, and the color. Tap the glowing dots — or step through the story with the arrows.
👆 Pick a part
Each glowing dot is a piece of the puzzle. Together they turn a cardboard ball into ten seconds of magic.
Part 2 · Physics
Liftoff! 🚀
Surprise: fireworks aren't rockets — they're artillery. The shell is fired from a tube called a mortar and does the rest of its journey as a perfectly-timed cannonball. Rule of thumb: every inch of shell diameter buys about 100 feet of altitude.
0 m
Press the button. Then stand back.
Part 3 · Chemistry
Why the Colors?
The burst heats metal atoms inside each star until their electrons jump to higher energy levels. When the electrons fall back down, they release the extra energy as light — and each metal emits its own signature wavelength. The color is literally the atom's fingerprint. Click an element to test-fire it.
🧪 The test range is hot. Pick your element above — or click the sky.
Part 4 · Design
The Pattern Lab 🧑🔬
Where each star is glued inside the shell is where it goes in the sky — pack them in a ring, you get a ring; glue them to a heart-shaped card, you get a heart. Different star recipes burn long, short, in blinking pulses, or even swim off on their own. You're the pyrotechnician now: design a shell and fire it.