![]() ![]() With this project, you’ll explore physical science while having a blast. Physics is all about understanding the forces and motions that shape our universe, and what better way to grasp these ideas than by building your very own catapult? The Popsicle Stick Catapult Project is excellent for learners starting at elementary age! This hands-on STEM project clarifies physics concepts and turns them into a candy-themed learning experience. Welcome to an exciting adventure in the world of physics, tailored perfectly for your homeschooling journey! We understand that physics can sometimes seem challenging, but fear not – we have just the project to make it easy and engaging. Please see our disclosure policy for more details. Groups were also allowed to go back and modify their catapult and try again, if there was still time.Ĩ.This article may contain affiliate links. Each group was allowed to launch a pompom three times and then take their best measurement. I gave them a time limit of 20 minutes to create before they needed to go get in line to launch their Punkin and get a measurement. So I showed them two more boxes of regular size craft sticks and mini craft sticks, and told them there were enough mini craft sticks for each group to have ten, and enough regular sized sticks for each group to have a handful.ħ. I also told them that they could try to make their catapult even better by using more sticks, but that they would have to be smaller sticks, since that is all I had. They could make their catapult in any way they liked, but the goal was to make a pompom go as far as possible.Ħ. Then I told them that they would each get a bag with eight jumbo craft sticks (one with a lid already hot-glued on,) and four different sizes of pompoms. I showed them how to make their own catapult, step by step.ĥ. I explained that the real name of my Punkin' Chunker was a catapult, and people used to use them long ago for self-defense.Ĥ. Then I demonstrated how my own little mini "Punkin' Chunker" worked, and of course when they saw it, they all just went BONKERS! (The first thing they wanted to know was if they got to KEEP the one they made, and I told them yes.)ģ. I first showed them my working prototype and explained that one holiday tradition we have here in the United States is having "Punkin' Chunkin" contests in which people make different kinds of catapults and see how far they can make their pumpkins fly! (I looked for a good YouTube video example, but really didn't find a good one!)Ģ. I'm sure that there are many ways to give it, but this is how I approached it, step by step.ġ. Get a class list on a clipboard ready, so that you can have one of the older children write down the length each Punkin flew. The reason why there were two rectangles was because that way, we could have two teams of kids launching the Punkins at the same time.Ħ. The fifth grade buddies did it! They drew two rectangles on either side of a white line on the playground, and then measured off ten feet in one foot increments. On the day of the lesson, set up a measuring station somewhere (ours was outside on the playground. Our strips were about 18-24 inches long each.ĥ. On the day of the lesson, get either a child helper or a volunteer to tear off lots of long strips of masking tape and put them along a counter top so that they are ready. (Can't afford pompoms? Marshmallows will also work- but the mini ones will hit the ceiling if you launch them inside!)Ĥ. ![]() I put in four different sizes of pompoms to let the children experiment and see which ones would fly the farthest. Make a zip baggie for each child with seven jumbo craft sticks in it, plus one of the sticks with the lids glued on.ģ. Hot glue a water bottle lid to one jumbo craft stick per child.Ģ. ![]()
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