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: 8.77
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: 8.20
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...
Tabletop Catapult Review
Posted 16 days ago by Tracey Paugh
Rating:
Setting: School
It is smaller than what I thought it would be. But it does work. I bought it for my daughter's science fair project. She will use it to launch balls of the same size but different weights and compare the distance thrown.
A great purchase!
Posted 7/16/2009
Rating:
Setting: Home
This was a great way to challenge my 11-year-old. He was able to put it together without any problem and enjoyed playing with it afterwards. We plan to purchase similar products from Fat Brain Toys.
Great for boys!
Posted 7/8/2009 by Kam Bosket
Rating:
Setting: Home
My ten year old loves to build catapults out of anything and everything, so I thought this would be a great gift. He enjoyed putting it together and loves shooting whatever he can find across the room. This was a big hit!
A rating of Catapult Kit
Posted 7/6/2009 by Edward Acosta
Rating:
This is a good product. I really liked the design. It is easy to put together. There is one major flaw. The release arm does not hold the catapult arm down. A simple solution is to drill a small hole at the end of the dowel and slip a brad to it for a hook. I did not care for the 3/8 posts and made 2 3/4x3/8 replacements, (it looks much nicer). There are 3 extra holes on each side of the body that are not necessary. This can lead to misplaced posts. The catapult can have a more finished look if it is sanded to remove the harsh corners. Put a 6th of a sheet of 180 grit sandpaper in the kit. It is a fun toy.
Review for 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.
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