Spoon catapults are a great way to exercise engineering skills to learn about physics principles. In this example, make a spoon catapult to launch a candy pumpkin (or candy corn) into the air. The pumpkin acts as your projectile. Students can measure the height and distance that the pumpkin travels. Additionally, change the launch angle by altering the number of craft sticks in the stack. Students will learn about trajectories and projectile motion in this fun fall or Halloween engineering activity!
Download Pumpkin Catapults Worksheet
If you tell them exactly how to build it, where is the STEM problem-solving?? I would say something like: You need to get this pumpkin to land in this toy truck for the fall harvest. Here are some links of how others have made catapults. Here are the supplies you get to pick from. You’ve got 45 minutes. Go.