Looking for a craft or maker idea that little engineers will enjoy? Try making a catapult out of popsicle sticks, rubber bands, and a plastic lid!
A catapult is a simple machine that has been around for ages. Talk about elastic potential energy and projectile motion as your kids launch marshmallows, pom poms, pencil erasers, or whatever their imaginations desire across the table. The bonus? They will be learning about simple physics and Newton’s Three Laws of Motion while doing it!
Newton’s Three Laws of Motion:
- Every object in a state of uniform motion will remain in that state of motion unless an external force acts on it.
- Force equals mass times acceleration.
- For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Some things to try:
- Experiment with different weighted items to see which ones fly the farthest.
- Design and build two or three different catapults and see which one works the best.
- Do some research on when catapults were first invented.
For more activities that explore Newton’s Laws of Motion, check out this blog: https://www.steampoweredfamily.com/ac…
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