Easy {and Fun} Catapult for Kids to Make

A catapult for kids to make is what we are featuring today!  What kid doesn’t want to launch something across the room? Build a catapult to develop this love even more.

We hope your kids love this activity as much as our own do.

Catapult for Kids to Make

Before building our craft stick catapult, I showed my 3 year old how to turn a spoon into a catapult. Simply press on the spoon end and the other end lifts up. You can’t make an easier catapult than that.

Supplies needed:

• 7 craft sticks
• 3 rubber bands
• a milk cap
• cotton balls {or other objects to launch}

Build a Catapult

1. Stack 5 craft sticks together, and rubber band the ends.
2. Stack 2 craft sticks together, and wrap a rubber band around the very end.
3. Separate the 2 craft sticks. Place the stack of 5 craft sticks between the 2 craft sticks.
4. Wrap a rubber band around all of the craft sticks to hold the catapult together.
5. Glue a milk cap {or something similar} on to serve as a launching platform.
6. Push down on the top craft stick and release to launch an object from the milk cap.

Catapult Science

Now create a simple experiment using the catapult of your choice. Try one of these experiments.

• Launch an object from the catapult multiple times and measure how far it travels each time.
• Launch different objects from the catapult and measure how far each object travels.
• Compare catapults. Build more than one catapult {the same or different design}. Launch the same object from each catapult and measure how far it travels.

Can you think of any other catapult experiments? Do you have a favorite catapult design?

More Kids Activities

What a fun way to launch something in the air!  Kids can build a catapult AND learn about science at the same time.  For more kids activities involving launching things, you might be interested in these ideas:

• Launch Something with a Tinker Toy Catapult
• Build a Catapult {and Play Catapult Games!}
• Science Sparks Plays with Catapult Science Experiments

Did you know? We wrote a science book!

Our book, The 101 Coolest Simple Science Experiments, features tons of awesome activities just like this one that will keep your kids engaged while they learn. How awesome is that?!

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