Making cuppapults - my latest passion!!

Here's my latest activity for my science workshops, now tried and tested in four classrooms:

Let’s make it move:     Let’s make a cuppapult

You Need:

-       Plastic coffee cup

-       5 rubber bands

-       1 teaspoon

-       Several missiles made from a piece of newspaper, wrapped and taped into a small ball

-       A paper plate

What to do:

All catapults have at least one thing in common: tension. The better it’s utilized, the more effective the catapult. Wrap four or five rubber bands around the container, an inch or so beneath the top.

Insert a teaspoon beneath the rubber bands. The tip of the handle should be just below the rubber bands.

How to launch a paper missile:

Place your paper missile on the cup of the teaspoon, pull back - and release. Note that the rim of the container forms a dimple that allows the spoon to bend back easily every time.

-       Place a paper plate away from the cuppapult.  Can you launch your missile and land on the plate?

-       Make a paper tower. Can you knock it down with a missile from your cuppapult?

-       Lay a playing card several feet away. How close can you get to the target?

Now try making a tinapult from a tin can, a popsicle stick and a bottle top – using the same method as above.

Glue the bottle top on the end of the popsicle stick. Put your missile in the cup, flick the stick, and watch it fly!!

-       Is it better than the cuppapult?