Catapults

We learned that Angry Birds use slingshots to launch themselves on the pigs structures in order to get the eggs.  Instead of building slingshots, we had the children build catapults using marshmallows, brochette skewers and a spoon. To help the children answer the question "How far will my Angry Bird fly?" We created a landing area by putting sand on two plastic bags in the house corner.  We measured the distances from the starting line to where the Angry Bird landed in the sand.

How far will my Angry Bird fly?

Results

Results

 

We are launching our Angry Birds.

Here are questions that summarize what the children learned during this activity:

Why did we build catapults?

To launch the Angry Birds (James).

What is a catapult?

A slingshot...We try to make it like a slingshot (Ben).

Why?

To throw the pigs to the structures. (Ben)

Big catapults were invented a long time ago. What was the catapult used for?

As a weapon (Ben).

What was the function of the catapult?

To lift big rocks (Ella).

Why would people use catapults?

To destroy castles (Christina)

What was the consequence of this invention?

Castles stopped being build as they were not protecting the people from invaders.

All the catapults we built were the same, why did we get different results from one catapult to another?

The elastic was not "stretchy." (Ava) Yes, all elastics did not have the same elasticity.

The elastics were heavier. (Tianna) Yes, some elastics were heavier; they were not all the same size.

Why did you get different results every time you launched your Angry Bird?

I put the spoon at different heights. I moved the spoon to the ground, middle and higher. (James)

You moved your spoon at different levels. When did it go the farthest?

When the spoon was lower. (James) You used more strength to push the spoon down and that force went into the elastic to launch your Angry Bird farther.


To learn more about Angry Birds go under Our Inquiries. You can read read more about our classroom activities under the tab Our Classroom Activities.