how to play

Divide the children into groups of 2–3. Begin with a story, such as knights needing a powerful catapult to protect their castle or explorers launching supplies across a river. Provide each group with popsicle sticks, rubber bands, and a bottle cap to act as the launching base. Show them how to build a simple catapult by stacking and fastening the sticks together and attaching the launching arm. Once ready, challenge the children to launch light objects like paper balls or any other small objects, testing how far and how high they can make them fly. If they struggle, give hints such as: What happens if you press down harder? How does changing the angle affect the distance? Can you adjust the base to make it stronger? After building, allow them to play by aiming at targets or competing to see whose catapult launches the farthest. This makes learning about force, motion, and angles both exciting and hands-on.

Questions to be asked

1. How does the catapult cannon launch objects?
2. What do you think makes the projectile (object launched) go further or shorter distances?
3. Why do you think the rubber bands are important in your catapult cannon?