Got kids? Are they bored out of their gourd? Why not teach them how to make something really cool while harnessing their inner-woodworker? Creating a homemade catapult is easy, fun and a great woodworking project for upper elementary school grade children; and not only is the wood crafting process an interesting one, the end result is hours of entertainment!
All you need for this simple, inexpensive woodworking project are six three-foot-long wooden dowels, nine very large rubber bands and a plastic cup. By the way, you can get lumber for any of your woodworking projects at M & M Enterprises in Daytona. No project is too big or too small for M & M Enterprises!
All you do is place three of your wooden dowels in a triangle and attach them with rubber bands for your base. Then take your remaining three wooden dowels and make another triangle, but this one is standing up. Attach each end to each of your base points so that it looks like a pyramid. Next, punch three evenly spaced, small holes around the top of your cup. Thread a rubber band through each, tying a knot to keep it in place and the other end to your three corners. Then, you just get some marshmallows, balls of paper, ping-pong balls or whatever you like, put them in that cup, pull it back and let ‘em fly!
This project also doubles as an awesome physics lesson if you happen to be teaching your kids at home. Pulling the cup back creates potential energy. Releasing the cup to launch a projectile creates kinetic energy. Plus, changing the size and weight of your projectile to see what flies higher and farther is a wonderful lesson in force and velocity!
The information for this blog was gathered at teachbesideme.com.