Wednesday, September 30, 2009

How to Make a Catapult (and Your Mom Irritated)

You see here David's masterpiece--his authentic, fully-working and operational catapult made from eight popsicle sticks, one straw, a plastic spoon, two rubber bands, two screws, some bits of eraser, a block of wood and some wood glue.

Does it work? You betcha! Just pull back that spoon, load it up and let her go . . .

It can fling a piece of mortar or army guys at least 30 feet and apparently I'm the target of choice around here. I've had plastic pumpkins and Legos pinging my back for about a week now. The fun never ends.

He made it in Webelos in about an hour and if you'd like to see more pictures that will give you a better idea of how it was put together you can see the series on my Flickr page.

And by the way, for those who missed it yesterday you can still get your bets in for when it's going to snow here in Anchorage. Plenty of dates left . . . oh and after many requests and pleadings this is the official announcement that I WILL be bringing back the Write-Away Contest so stop by on Friday to see the topic for October along with the guest judge and beautiful gift you'll be writing to win.

And of course you're welcome to stop by tomorrow too. Nothing preventing that, I'd love to see you.

Sponsored by Pak Naks--decorate your stuff!

20 comments:

SarahHub said...

I'm impressed!

Kathy G said...

I LOVED the title of this post!

Thank goodness my boys never did this in Scouts.

Danielle said...

Oh man, I do not want my boys to see this! If it's any consolation, I'm fairly certain I'd be the target of choice in my house too. ;-)

Summer said...

I need step by step instructions! I so want to make this with my boys.

Kelly said...

We recently made these in scouts, as well. Our consisted of (in order from bottom to top) a block of wood, wooden clothes pin, tongue-depressor sized popsicle stick, and a bottle cap (from a water bottle) to hold the projectiles! Ping-pong balls have been flying!

Jolanthe said...

It's very colorful, no? :) I'm so not even going to let me kids see that!

Heart2Heart said...

Michelle,

You have quite the inventor dwelling within your household. Very creative and it's truly worth more to him than something he can buy! Hmmm, perhaps this could be a marketing idea for him to sell???

Thank you so much for sharing and don't forget to watch your back!

Love and Hugs ~ Kat

Scribbit said...

Well the pictures you see on Flickr make it easier to see how it went together. Since I wasn't there when he made it I'm afraid that's the best I can do.

Unplanned Cooking said...

Ha ha -- this is so something my boys would do (when they're older)! Thanks for the laugh.

Jennifer said...

hmmmm something I can torture my cub scout mom's with :) Many thanks :)

Moore Minutes said...

Wow!! Soo cool. My boys would LOVE this! :)

Also, I'm doing my first giveaway on my blog right now if you're interested:

http://www.mooreminutes.com/2009/09/pleated-poppy-giveaway.html

Steph said...

What a fabulous idea. It is a rainy day here. I am going to have my kids make one when they get home from school.

Chrissy Johnson said...

That RULES.

patricia zapata said...

Love it! I'll definitely have to show the Webelo in our house (or will I regret that?).

Stephanie Frieze said...

What a great job! I can't wait to show it to one of my students who likes fooling around with things. And to my grandson when he gets a little older.

Kristen M. said...

I showed this to my 6yr old and got excited. He has been talking about making a catapult for a long time...my 8yr old dtr was more impressed with the "and your mom irritated" part.

jean said...

A few years ago I would have thought this was really cool. Now I just fear it! I can only imagine the destruction it would cause if my son and his friends made these. They wouldn't be happy with just one they would build armies with them. Hmm, maybe I could send them outside? Ok, maybe I'll show them how to make this and then run inside.

Lori said...

That is very cool, though I'm sure the picking up part is not nearly as thrilling. You have a budding engineer!

Laurel Nelson said...

Oh that's impressive, BUT my little brother once built a full size trebuchet in our backyard when he was maybe a bit older than that, though sadly I don't recall it working quite as he had planned, but it was still cool nonetheless. Glad your son's catapult actually works. :)

Nancy Reyes said...

Linked.

My grandsons will love it.