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April 30, 2012

Simple Catapults

How to build a simple catapult

My kids love launching things into the air.  We made these simple catapults a while ago to launch packing peanuts.  We were asked to build a few simple wooden catapults for a group game, we were super excited.

Simple Catapult Tutorial ~ Easy DIY Catapult for Kids to Make

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Catapult Materials:

  • Scrap Wood ~ we used 1×4’s and 2×4’s
  • Screws
  • Tape Measure
  • Saw
  • Drill or Screwdriver
  • Something to launch ~ We used vintage film canisters

How to build a simple catapult your kids will love ~ outdoor fun

These little wooded catapults are so easy to build, and were also able to use left over wood from another project.  Love that!  Simply measure and cut a 1 x 4 32″ long and a another piece 3 1/2″ long.  Next cut a 2 x 4 to 3 1/2″ long.  Once you have all your pieces cut, screw both the 3 1/2″ pieces 8 – 10″ from one end.  Done!  Now your ready to launch.

How to build a simple catapult your kids will love ~ outdoor fun

Notice that the front catapult had 2 2x 4’s as the base and the back catapult uses a 2×4 and a 1×4.  Play around a bit to see which works best for you.  The kids liked the one made with the1x4.

How to build a simple catapult your kids will love ~ outdoor fun

Simply find something small items to launch, stomp on the end and watch it fly.  Smaller items like marshmallows, microfilm canisters, soft toys etc all worked great.

How to build a simple catapult your kids will love ~ outdoor fun

I love her look of determination!

How to build a simple catapult your kids will love ~ outdoor fun

The kids enjoyed both launching and catching the flying objects.

How to build a simple catapult your kids will love ~ outdoor fun

Yes, your seeing correctly.  My husband and a good friend decided to take launching small items a step further.  They built a small fire ball and sent it flying.  I’m sure you are wondering what they were thinking, well I can’t answer that question;)  Although since I knew the fire launch was going to take place, we made sure we had plenty of water on hand and waited for a wet rainy day.

How to build a simple catapult your kids will love ~ outdoor fun

It was pretty amazing to see how far and high the fire ball went.  It looked like a comet flying through the air.  Even though this was pretty amazing to see, we will be sticking to safer items to launch in the future.  Hope you enjoy building and playing with these easy to build catapults!

Here is a link to a fun list of great experiments that my kids love.

For more simple kid experiments, check out our:

Walking on Eggs

Ivory Soap Experiment

Exploding Peep Geysers

Shooting Water Experiment

Related posts:

  1. Catapult Fun
  2. Elastic-band Launchers
  3. Clothespin Catapults
  4. Simple Outdoor Checkers Game
Posted in Experiments, Kid Projects and tagged Kid Projects, Move and Learn.

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Related posts:

  1. Catapult Fun
  2. Elastic-band Launchers
  3. Clothespin Catapults
  4. Simple Outdoor Checkers Game
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4 thoughts on “Simple Catapults”

  1. Shelly on August 16, 2012 at 11:10 am said:

    Oh my, these wooden catapults look great and I know my kids would love them! But I have to be honest and say I laughed when I saw the picture of your husband’s fireball! Glad you waited for a rainy day though!

    Reply ↓
  2. Pingback: 80+ Gross Motor Skills Activities from The PLAY Group - Parent Teach Play

  3. Pingback: Building a Catapult for Kids {Simple Catapult = Catapult Games}

  4. amanda on September 11, 2013 at 8:45 pm said:

    I laughed so hard when I got to the fire ball picture. That is so, so incredibly rad.

    Reply ↓

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