Introduction: Trebuchet - Let It Fly!

By hello
About: hello

Let it fly! I tasked my team of students (2 teams - 2 designs) to do some brainstorming. Then, design and create a trebuchet that could launch a basketball over a small building. Success!

Step 1: Brainstorm & Design

Following the Design Process, Brainstorming and Designing come after identifying the objective. First on paper, the CAD. The criteria here is the following:

1. Has to be portable (have wheels)

2. Has to fit through a doorway

3. Has to have counterweights, not torsion

4. Has to be decorated/painted

5. Has to have a release mechanism

Step 2: Materials and Build

Next step...Supplies:

1. Lots of 2x4s

2. Plywood

3. Wheels

4. Nuts/Bolts

5. Weights

6. Rope

7 Latch

8 Basketball

Step 3: Team Photos

Both teams accomplished the task, but one team built theirs too wide and it had to stay outside : (

Step 4: Decorate

After successful testing and tweaking to obtain the desired results, decorations to blend with the environment ensued. End results yielded two trebuchets that could launch basketballs farther than one could through them. Fun project mixed with history and engineering.

Step 5: Pizza Party

I always through a pizza party after a major project or activity. Yay! Well done, students!