Bowling pins today are made of wood or a synthetic material. Pins have very precise specifications that are set by the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). The video below explains how wooden pins are made.
Bowling pins today are made of wood or a synthetic material. Pins have very precise specifications that are set by the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). The video below explains how wooden pins are made.
Activity: Research the USBC Approved Specifications for bowling pins in the Equipment Specifications and Certifications Manual (pages 18-28).
Download the Equipment Specifications and Certifications Manual
Activity: Make your own bowling set using water bottles or similar item. A softball or similar item can be used for the ball. We recommend adding a small amount of sand in each pin. Don’t have sand? Get creative, what else could you use? Experiment with how much the pins fly and how easy it is for them to fall over based on what you put in them (don’t make it to easy). You can even test different items in the bottle and see what you like best. Determine your own specifications for your set of pins. What do your pins weigh? Do you have a weight tolerance for each pin (what’s the lightest you will allow, what’s the heaviest you will allow)? How much sand or other product did you add to each bottle? What is the size of your bottles? Bowling pins are stamped with a seal of approval. Create an approval label for your pins and glue them on the pin. Your label could say “Your Name Approved” (replace “your name” with your actual name). Be creative with your label and add bowling artwork.