Play Catapult

Place three rubber bands around the metal ends of the paper binder. Make sure there is no slack in the rubber bands.

Slide your Popsicle stick under the rubber bands. If you have a flimsy Popsicle stick, you must hold roughly three Popsicle sticks together and place rubber bands around the sticks to hold them in place. This will make the sticks much stronger and able to throw objects farther in distance.

Sit an object on one of the metal pieces of the paper binder. Hold the other metal piece down with your hand and push on the object sitting in the metal piece. Push back as far as you can and release. Your object will now fly through the air, thanks to your Popsicle catapult.

Arrange your Styrofoam blocks into the shape of the base of your catapult, about 4 inches thick and as wide and long as you desire. Cut through the foam pieces with a bread knife and adhere them together with glue. Save any scrap pieces of Styrofoam to use as ammunition in your catapult when it's complete.

Glue two clothespins together, stacking them on their skinny sides. Glue the clothespins in the center of the Styrofoam base.

Tie a rubber band around the top prong of the clothespin tower. Place the handle of a plastic spoon underneath the rubber band, so that the rest of the utensil is extending in the air.

Place a piece of Styrofoam in the spoon. Pull back on the utensil and let it go to send the object flying. Try placing ammunition of different weights in the catapult -- such as peas, beads and coins -- to see what travels the farthest. Move the spoon back and forth up the clothespins to adjust how far the catapult can send objects in the air.

Use a marker to draw a small hole 3 1/2 inches from the end of each 24-inch 2-by-3 board.

Drill a hole straight through the center of each circle. These are the pivot holes.

Draw a line on each 2-by-3 board at 5 1/2 inches and 8 inches.

Align a handsaw with one of the markings you just made. Cut halfway through the 2-by-3 board using the markings as a guide. Cut halfway through each of the other markings.

Wedge a chisel into the cut you made. Hammer the top of the chisel to remove the wood square from each 2-by-3 board.

Draw a line on a 14-inch 2-by-3 board at 2 1/2 inches from the end. Draw another line on a second 14-inch 2-by-3. Cut halfway through each board and chisel the wood away.

Align the cut 24-inch 2-by-3 boards and two 7 1/2 inch boards so they form a rectangle. Turn the 24-inch boards so the notches you cut face outward.

Drill a pilot hole at the end of each 24-inch board. Screw the four boards together.

Make a pilot hole in the center of one of the 14-inch boards. Screw a large eye hook into the hole.

Fit the two 14-inch 2-by-3 boards into the notches on the 24-inch boards. Screw the boards together.

Position one 14-inch board horizontally across the top of the two vertical boards. Place the horizontal board on the side facing away from the eye hook. Screw the horizontal and vertical boards together.

Cut the ends of one 14-inch board so they form angles. Position the board at an angle between the horizontal board and the board with the eye hook. Screw the angled board in place.

Drill a hole through the end of a 28-inch board. Slide the cut broomstick handle through the hole. The broomstick handle should slide through the hole easily. If you feel resistance, make the hole larger.

Cut a plastic or paper cup to 2 inches tall. Staple the cup to the other end of the 28-inch board.

Screw an eye hook into the 28-inch board just below the cup.

Angle the 28-inch board and slide the ends of the broomstick through the two large holes in the 24-inch boards.

Attach the ends of a bungee cord to the eye hooks to complete the catapult.

Drill holes at the bottom of four of the rulers large enough for the carriage bolts to fit through. Put carriage bolts through the holes of two of the rulers and hold them in place with a nut on the other side. Put the carriage bolts through the air holes in the brick--one through the hole at the front and one through the hole at the back.

Lay the brick on its side so the ends of the carriage bolts are sticking up through the brick. Twist two more bolts on and keep twisting them until them are just inside the brick's air holes. Put the bolts through the holes of two more rulers so that each bolt holds two rulers, one on each side of the brick and hold in place with another nut on the outside of the ruler.

Stand the brick up again and stand a ruler up vertically, pulling it up so that the carriage bolt inside the air hole is tight against the brick. Drill a hole through the ruler just as it comes up over the level of the brick. Do the same with the ruler on the other side of the brick and put a carriage bolt through the two holes, securing it with nuts on each side so that the rulers stand up vertically on their own.

Hold the other two rulers diagonally to make right-angle triangles with the vertical rulers. Align their ends and drill a hole through each ruler. Put a carriage bolt though the holes and secure it in place with nuts. Drill holes through the diagonal rulers just as they come up over the level of the brick and secure in place with a further carriage bolt. You should have two right-angle triangles firmly held in place on opposite sides of the bricks.

Drill a hole 5/8 of an inch across int the vertical rulers, 2 inches above the level of the brick. Tie one end of the string around the middle of a carriage bolt and tie the other end of the string to the piece of wire. Thread the string through the holes you have just drilled, in through one side of the catapult and out through the other, pulling it tight so the carriage bolt comes tight against the outside of the vertical ruler.

Lay the final ruler flat on top of the string with three inches on one side of the string and nine on the other. Press a carriage bolt across the hole that the string is come out of, with the string passing under it. Go around the carriage bolt with the string and back through the hole so the bolt is held in place in a loop of string.

Thread the string under the loose ruler and back out through the first hole, take it round the carriage bolt and back through the hole, this time going over the top of the loose ruler then out through the hole on the other side. Again go round the carriage bolt, back through the hole and over the top of the ruler. Continue doing this, going twice over the ruler then then twice under until no more string can fit through the holes.

Tie the loose end of the string to a carriage bolt. Pull the long end of the ruler you have wrapped in string back flat against the brick and tie it in place. Twist both the carriage bolts which are wrapped in string in the opposite direction from the direction you just turned the ruler. Keep doing this till they pulled as tight as they can sensibly go.

Lay a mash mallow on the tip of the tied-back ruler. Hold the ruler in place and carefully undo the string that keeps it held down. Aim and let go!

Measure and cut three pieces of the wood trim that are 12 inches long with the circular saw.

Measure and cut eight pieces of the wood trim that are 6 inches long with the circular saw.

Take two of the pieces of wood trim that are 6 inches long and place them in the miter saw. Set the miter saw at a 45 degree angle and cut one end of each piece.

Position one of the cut pieces on the miter saw so that the shortest side is at the top and the uncut end is in the miter saw. Set the saw at a negative 45 degree angle. Cut the end of the piece. Repeat the process on the other piece of wood.

Lay two long pieces of wood in a horizontal position in front of you. The pieces should be parallel to each other. These will be called the bases. Lay one of the 6 inch pieces of wood in a perpendicular position on top of each long base. These will be called the beams. Align the bottom of the first beam with the bottom edge of the top base. Align the top of the second beam with the top edge of the bottom beam. Secure the pieces together where they intersect with a wood screw and a drill or screwdriver.

Lay one of the tapered pieces on top of the right end of each base board. These will be the supports. The wood should be in a diagonal position and aligned with the bottom edge of the top base and the right side of the beam. The second piece should be aligned with the top edge of the bottom base and the right side of the beam. Secure the supports to the bases where they intersect. Glue the edges of the supports to the beams and allow the glue to dry.

Position both pieces constructed in steps 5 and 6 so that the beams are upright and the screws are in the interior. These are the sides of the catapult. Lay one piece of 6 inch wood on the right end of the sides. Lay one piece of 6 inch wood on the left end of the sides. Position the pieces so that the ends are aligned with the outside edges of the sides. Secure the corners with wood screws.

Center one 6 inch piece of wood in the center of the support beams. Connect both ends of the wood to the supports with screws.

Center one 6 inch piece of wood at the top of the beams. Connect both ends of the wood to the beams.

Drill a small hole in one end of a 12 inch piece of wood. The hole should be centered and .5 inch from the end. The hole should be slightly larger than the diameter of the axle. Lay the piece of wood in front of you horizontally so that the drilled hole is on the right.

Screw a hook on the top edge of the piece of wood from step 12. The hook should be placed 3 inches from the left end.

Fold a piece of poster board or cardboard to form an open box shape. The edges of the box should be slightly higher than the height of the hook from step 13. The width of the box should be between 2.5 and 3 inches. Place the box on the edge of the wood from step 12 with one side against the hook. Glue the bottom of the box to the wood.

Drill small holes in both beams approximately .25 inch above the base pieces. Slide the axle through the two beams and through the hole drilled in step 12. Dab glue around each of the entry points.

Screw another hook in the center of the 6 inch piece of wood on the right side of the catapult base. Make sure the hook opening faces downward.

Thread a rubber band around both hooks.