Pathfinders' innovative wooden science kits build working replicas of infamous and powerful, medieval siege engines, including the Catapult. While these scale models will only be smashing down imaginary castle walls, they are loads of fun to build and use.
Weapons that once smashed castle and fortress walls changed the course of many a kingdom! Building this catapult allows children and adults to explore the link between design, materials and technology. A wonderful lesson in how basic mechanical principles turned simple materials into very useful and effective tools.
Pathfinders kits are designed by Derek Wulff, a science educator in British Columbia, and made in Canada. The kits are based on historic designs: the Catapult on ones used during the Middle Ages. The kits use only wood and rope. Pieces are joined by wooden dowels, not screws or nails. No elastic, rubber, motor or batteries are used to create the movement of these device's swing arms. All pieces are pre-cut and drilled requiring only wood or white glue to assemble. The instructions are detailed and complete with educational notes about the siege engine.
When completed, the Catapult stands 6 in tall x 5 in wide x 10 in long. It can shoot a ball of soft modeling clay over 15 feet when properly tuned. (Modeling clay is included in the kit.)
Catapult Science Kit
Objects fly 10 ft or more - imaginations fly further
Discover science principles in assembly & exploration of a working device
Test different weights of projectiles
Make predictions and measure distances
Put together basics of physics, engineering, devices of antiquity, history
Explore the links between design, materials, and technology
Experiment with tension, torsion, traction and gravity
Study trajectory and use of a power source for hurling objects
Safety Instructions Included
Assembly time: 1-2 hours
Use with adult supervision
Ages 10+
Toy Value Index: 8.80
The Toy Value Index is a Fat Brain Toys exclusive intended to quantify the overal play value of a given toy or game. We do this by taking our customers' feedback on (QUALITY + TIME PLAYED + AGE TRANSCENDENCE)/PRICE.
Fat Brain Index: 8.21
The Fat Brain Index is another Fat Brain Toys exclusive that factors in 14 different traits that we've identified that make a toy "Fat Brain Worthy".
NEW! The following "cloud" is a semantic representation of our customers' general impression of Catapult Kit. The larger the text, the more frequently that term is used to describe it. Was this helpful? Let us know...
A rating of Catapult Kit
Posted 4/21/2009 by David Johnson
Rating:
product was well made and was easy to assemble, my 8 year old had no problems. catapult was used for a school project and saved hours of construction time on making one from scratch.
My son's catapult science project
Posted 4/16/2009 by Kassandra Weaver
Rating:
Setting: School
It was very easy to assemble and my 11 yr old built it almost completely by himself. It works very well, the modelling clay provided makes great ammunition. Just make sure that you have glue, it helps to keep it steady while aiming. It shot about 15 ft with no problem. He was so excited and all of his friends are jealous now!! Thanks so much.
Catapult kit
Posted 3/23/2009 by Denise Solitario
Rating:
Two of the pieces were broken within the kit. My daughter needs this for a school project. We'll tape the pieces together and hope that they stay. (Note from Fat Brain Toys: This situation catapulted our customer service team into action. Denise was offered a replacement or a credit. Our aim is your 100% full satisfaction. See our Returns & Exchanges Policies for details.)
Some alternate spelling variations of this product:
catapult kits, build a catapult, catapult building sets, science catapults, historical catapults, history toys, science experiments, science kits, science sets, building kits, trajectory toys, castle toys, medieval toys,
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Elkhorn, Nebraska USA 68022