As an inquiry project in Mrs. Cey's grade 8 science class, students were challenged to design and construct a catapult that would launch a marshmallow the furthest. Some tof the limitations were: it had to fit through a classroom door, it would launch a marshmallow a minimum of 20 feet, and the device had to be constructed with safety in mind. After much design, redesign, trial and error, the students excelled at this project! Some future engineers perhaps?!
In their self reflections, students could describe design and construction modifications they would make if they did the project again. They learned about trajectory, equal and opposite reactions, and other physics principles. Moreover, they accomplished this challenging hands-on task with smiles on their faces!