Building a Shoe Box Catapult
When you think of catapults, you may imagine giant wooden devices used during medieval battles to hurl rocks over walls. Although it can be difficult to construct a real-sized catapult in the present day, you can build a working model of a catapult using materials found around the house, such as a shoe box. It won't allow you to hurl boulders -- but it will enable you to launch "rocks" made of wadded paper at your friends and family.
Instructions
- 1 Take the top off of a standard size shoe box and discard it. You will be only using the bottom portion of the shoe box.
2 Position the shoe box horizontally in front of you. Use a nail to poke a hole through the side facing you and the side facing away from you.
3 Insert an unsharpened pencil through the two holes.
4 Push the pointed end of a brass brad through the bottom of the shoe box directly underneath the pencil.
5 Place a second unsharpened pencil standing up vertically in the shoe box. Tape it onto the horizontal pencil using electrical tape so that it is positioned perpendicularly to the first pencil.
6 Tape a plastic spoon onto the vertical pencil using electrical tape so that the bowl of the spoon faces to the right.
7 Wrap a rubber band around the brass brad and around the bottom end of the vertical pencil. Pull back the vertical pencil, place an object into the bowl of the spoon, then release the pencil to launch the object.
