Sponsors:
Stow 2000-2001
Chiming CatapultsPowerpoint Presentation | Meet the team
The Exhibit
This exhibit has three catapults that children can use to propel wooden balls to a target. The children can adjust the trajectory by changing the strength of the catapult (how far the arm is pulled back), the position of the ball on the catapult arm, and the release point of the ball. The exhibit demonstrates the principles of trajectory motion.
The Design Process
After agreeing as a team to build an exhibit centered around catapults, the girls had to decide what type of catapult to build. The girls all made a protype using wood of what they felt was the ideal catapult, then discussed as a team to decide which features to use for their final exhibit.
One of the major questions raised after prototyping was: how much adjustments should the users be able to make on the catapults?This affected the complexity of the catapult design, as well as the ease of use of the final catapult. More adjustments seemed to be a good idea at the beginning, but the girls decided that the catapults would be too complicated to make and to use for small children. The final catapults have three variables: point of release, the position of the ball, and how far the children can pull back on the arm.
A major challenge, as quoted by the team, was "cooperating as a team, and putting our ideas together to hopefully make one good one."
Related Links
How to Build a Catapult
[http://www.trebuchet.com/plans.html]Trebuchet.com
[http://www.trebuchet.com/]iCatapults
[http://icatapults.freeservers.com/]How to Make a Catapult
[http://www.bow.k12.nh.us/CyberBUS/armor%20and%20weapons/ Catapults/howto.htm]Rubber Band Powered Catapult
[http://icatapults.freeservers.com/pscatapult.htm]
