One day during snack time, I saw my son, Cory, put a spoon on the edge of his plate. On the spoon was one of his crackers. He took his finger and pressed the handle of the spoon causing the cracker to fly in the air. My first thought was to tell him to stop and eat; however, this time I realized he was doing a science experiment.
I told my son that he made his own catapult, which is used to throw objects over a far range. This is a great STEM project for kids to do. Afterwards, I went to the kitchen and gave him a cup. I challenged Cory to get the cracker in the cup with the catapult he created. He did that for about 20 minutes and then ate the rest of his crackers.
Whenever, Cory has an interest in something, I try to use it as a fun learning opportunity for him. The next day we went to the library and checked out the book called, Make a Catapult by Meg Gaertner. This book explained the science of catapults, how they work, and its various types. At the end, it showed us how to make one with materials we had at home.
The book grabbed Cory’s attention! He was most excited about making his own catapult. After creating the catapult, we played a competitive game to see who could get the cotton ball in the cup the most times.
Below we will show you in a video how to make a catapult.
How To Make A Catapult Easy
The video below comes my son’s YouTube channel, Corban’s Fun Learning Adventures. Please subscribe if you like what you see. We post fun hands-on activities weekly.
Here are the materials for the Catapult
Have fun with this project! Encourage your kids to do more hands-on STEM projects. It helps them learn how things work and get their creative juices flowing.
Check Out Simply Outrageous Youth’s Favorite Products!
Our books are available on Amazon, “Teach Your Toddler to Read Through Play,” “Fun Easy Ways to Teach Your Toddler to Write, and “Teach Your Child About Money Through Play.“
THE TEACH YOUR TODDLER TO READ THROUGH PLAY ONLINE COURSE HAS A $97 DISCOUNT.
What a simple little STEM project! Great activity I may try on a rainy day 🙂
I am glad you like it! This is great for a rainy day.
Seems simple and fun! Will definitely try this with my sons. Thank you
Oh good! I hope you enjoy this game.
Love these ideas and will definitely save them for use in class. Thanks.
No problem! I hope you have fun with this.
This is a really cool inexpensive and fun idea. We did a much larger catapult with the Boy Scouts but you need a really big area for the one we did. Thanks for sharing.
No problem. I am glad you like this idea.
Love it! What a great way to grab easily distracted kids attention for a while!
Great post
Thank you! I am glad you like this game.
This looks so interesting.
Thanks for sharing this
No problem! I am glad you like this.
Such an awesome little STEM project! I know I’m guilty of making plenty pea launching spoon catapults back in the high school cafeteria years! Lol.
LOL! Thank you for your comment! Catapults are so fun!
I have 3 kids and am always looking for fun activities to do with them. Can’t wait to try this!
Oh wonderful! I hope you have fun with this project!