Catapult Science Workshop

Today we’re going to be creating own very own catapults to test out!  I came across this idea from the Libraryland blog and from the Show Me Librarian blog.  Both had great ideas and I combined them as well as some ideas of my own to create, what I think, will be an awesome project!

We’re going to start our program by talking about catapults – what they are, how they work, etc.  I really like creating a discussion where the kids can tell me what they know first. Kids love to share and even if the information is exactly correct, we can learn about the truth through sharing information and referencing books!  After our brief discussion, I’m going to share just a little bit from a couple of books that talk about catapults in Medieval times.  One of my favorite books I came across is called Sweaty Suits of Armor: Could You Survive Being a Knight? by Chana Stiefel.  The author describes how catapults were used – for rocks, dead animals, and even poop!  I never knew that invading knights hurled poop through the air, but I guess they had to do whatever it took!

After we reference a few of the books, the kids are ready to build their catapults.  I love the catapults from the Libraryland blog because they require no glue and can be used immediately.  They also had a great instructional sheet with pictures to explain how they are made!  I’m also borrowing the masking tape idea for the kids to practice using their catapults. We have a nice big meeting space for the kids to spread out and catapult pompoms across the room. And if we have time we might even have a battle!  Here’s to a great afternoon of exploration and learning.