How we got started.
My oldest son came home with a school project two years ago to build a Leprechaun trap. It was a creative expression exercise. He was supposed to create a plan, write a description of how to execute the plan and then build it (sounds like Instructables). In classic manner for our house we created the trap in the evening before it was due. We used a cardboard box, and some mousetrap parts. It was very basic but effective. That night we set the trap to see if it worked. Low and behold we were almost successful. Upon waking up the next morning he found that the trap had been sprung and there were a few strands of green fabric caught in the trap!! He was disappointed that we did not catch one, but he was beyond ecstatic that the theory was good and he so close to success. His enthusiasm had an interesting impact on his day at school too. When the time came to review the projects, his teacher explained the history of Leprechauns and their fictitious background. Of course he had to correct his teacher. But, he was brimming with confidence and also able to provide her with the demonstration of his built trap and showed the whole class proof with the fibers. She we very impressed and backed down. She let the class know that maybe he had made a meaningful discovery.
Needless to say that my younger son has been waiting two years to build his trap. He carefully planned his design (I gave him a few pointers to make it more effective). Then we built it. When I say we, I want to make sure you look closely at the pictures. He drilled every hole, screwed in every screw and did all finish work on this project. This is truly his Instructable. I was merely along as a consultant and assistant to his efforts. He is confident you will like his design and he is convinced we will be successful in catching a real Leprechaun this year. Please watch the video at the end.
Parents and Teachers, this is a great educational instructable. It allows you to teach all about critical thinking and problem solving. They get to create a theory of what method will work best. They get to work through the challenges of building from their design. The best part is they get to see if their design actually works when all said and done. Along the way the get to use a large variety of tools and supplies. In this one project they get an education in Art, Carpentry, Science, Physics, Cultures, Folklore, Recycling, Humor (Leprechauns make fun of you when you do not catch them), and Forensics.
Note: This is an "Extreme" Leprechaun trap because it has superior strength and lightning fast spring action. EXTREME measures needed to capture EXTREMELY sneaky and crafty Leprechauns.
My oldest son came home with a school project two years ago to build a Leprechaun trap. It was a creative expression exercise. He was supposed to create a plan, write a description of how to execute the plan and then build it (sounds like Instructables). In classic manner for our house we created the trap in the evening before it was due. We used a cardboard box, and some mousetrap parts. It was very basic but effective. That night we set the trap to see if it worked. Low and behold we were almost successful. Upon waking up the next morning he found that the trap had been sprung and there were a few strands of green fabric caught in the trap!! He was disappointed that we did not catch one, but he was beyond ecstatic that the theory was good and he so close to success. His enthusiasm had an interesting impact on his day at school too. When the time came to review the projects, his teacher explained the history of Leprechauns and their fictitious background. Of course he had to correct his teacher. But, he was brimming with confidence and also able to provide her with the demonstration of his built trap and showed the whole class proof with the fibers. She we very impressed and backed down. She let the class know that maybe he had made a meaningful discovery.
Needless to say that my younger son has been waiting two years to build his trap. He carefully planned his design (I gave him a few pointers to make it more effective). Then we built it. When I say we, I want to make sure you look closely at the pictures. He drilled every hole, screwed in every screw and did all finish work on this project. This is truly his Instructable. I was merely along as a consultant and assistant to his efforts. He is confident you will like his design and he is convinced we will be successful in catching a real Leprechaun this year. Please watch the video at the end.
Parents and Teachers, this is a great educational instructable. It allows you to teach all about critical thinking and problem solving. They get to create a theory of what method will work best. They get to work through the challenges of building from their design. The best part is they get to see if their design actually works when all said and done. Along the way the get to use a large variety of tools and supplies. In this one project they get an education in Art, Carpentry, Science, Physics, Cultures, Folklore, Recycling, Humor (Leprechauns make fun of you when you do not catch them), and Forensics.
Note: This is an "Extreme" Leprechaun trap because it has superior strength and lightning fast spring action. EXTREME measures needed to capture EXTREMELY sneaky and crafty Leprechauns.
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My son wanted to catch a leprechaun this year. He started with a similar design to his brother, which was basically a trap door box that was mouse trap activated. After some discussion, we decided to go with a more ancient animal trap style that was mouse trap activated ( He bought the traps with his own hard earned money a while back. They needed to be part of the design no matter what!!). I cannot find his original blueprint but this is a version we used during the build.
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Knittage says:
May 11, 2012. 1:58 AMReply
We're from Ireland, and lived in both Dublin and Limerick, and how we wish we'd had a trap as good as this to keep those pesky leprechauns away from all of our treasure! Truly excellent! Well done!
3
Aron313 says:
Mar 21, 2012. 4:18 PMReply
Know has it ever caught a leprechaun?
7
couchchangeracing (author) says:
Mar 23, 2012. 10:17 PMReplyNo. As a matter of fact the little rascal came in one night last week, disassembled the top without triggering the mechanism and made off with the coin. To make matters worse he left a note taunting of his success!
3
Aron313 says:
Mar 24, 2012. 5:46 AMReply
Ah man that sucks! D:
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couchchangeracing (author) says:
Mar 24, 2012. 11:07 PMReplyWe will get him one of these days!!!
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wilgubeast says:
Mar 20, 2012. 4:20 PMReplyI like this assignment, and thanks for detailing your build. If their teacher is at all interested, we do give free pro accounts to teachers. (And any teacher who assigns something like this would likely be interested.)
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couchchangeracing (author) says:
Mar 23, 2012. 10:17 PMReplyThank you I will let his teacher know.
6
CatTrampoline says:
Mar 22, 2012. 10:35 AMReply
Excellent write-up of an excellent project. I always liked assignments like this. I realize that they are harder to grade than a standardized worksheet, but the students learn and stay enthusiastic about class. One of my son's best teachers had the class make 2-liter soda bottle rockets, combining physics, art, and fun.
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couchchangeracing (author) says:
Mar 23, 2012. 10:17 PMReplyYes, he was able to use a few different skills in completing this project.
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rimar2000 says:
Mar 14, 2012. 9:30 AMReplyVery clever!
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couchchangeracing (author) says:
Mar 16, 2012. 9:40 PMReplyThanks, he is going to be a better builder than me soon.
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