#ScienceWeek continues at our house… and so does the rain…

Since we are stuck inside I needed a fun, easy to assemble, and potentially genius experiment that both of my kiddos would adore… not a small order by any means! Lucky for me – and you! – I found these incredibly cool catapults and I had all the items to assemble them on hand.

Check out all the bright fun colors! I love colorful craft sticks and we have pom-poms galore for various projects and sorting activities. Just by adding the colorful items, my 3 year old was sure to love this experiment.

Materials:

• Craft Sticks – we used 10 all together to create 2 catapults using our basic model. But you may want more craft sticks to try out different configurations.
• Plastic Spoons – the cheap ones with a little more flex in them work best for this experiment
• Rubber Bands
• Pom-Poms – we tried out various sizes but any you have on hand will work

The catapult is very simple to construct. A few stacks of craft sticks and a few rubber bands to secure and you are good to go!

Note: In each of these photos you see duplicates for each step. That is because I have 2 kids and, of course, they each needed their own catapult. However, you could easily make just one or make 5 to suit your needs!

You begin by layering 2 craft sticks together and securing with a rubber band on only one end (e.g. see the orange and purple sticks). Then you layer a stack of 3 craft sticks together and secure with rubber bands at both ends (e.g. see the blue and red craft stick stacks).

Next, you insert the stack of 3 craft sticks in between the 2 craft sticks from the 2-stick bundle. The closer the 3 stick bundle gets to the edge of the 2-stick bundle, the more leverage the catapult will have. Use a rubber band to secure the 3 craft stick bundle to the top craft stick from the 2-stick bundle.

Using a rubber band, secure the plastic spoon to the top of your catapult.

Finally, add the pom-pom, pull back, and….. LAUNCH!

We found that our catapult worked best if you placed a finger on the 2 stick bundle to hold it in place before pushing down on the spoon.

Our 6 year old was all about adjusting and reconfiguring the basic model to see what would happen. The scientific discovery – and complete focus on the activity – were so much fun to observe!

There are so many variations and adjustments that you can try during this experiment:

• Try changing the number of crafts sticks in the 3-stick bundle. Try more sticks to give your catapult even more leverage. How far does your catapult launch an object with 7 craft sticks bundled together?
• Try launching different items. Do marshmallows fly farther than the pom-poms? Can your catapult launch a small ball or plastic toy?
• What happens if you move the spoon farther off the end of the catapult?

The possibilities are endless!!

Happy Experimenting!