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Long ago, in medieval times, when kings and warriors of the invading armies wanted to breach the castle walls and capture the enemies land, they used huge siege engines.  One of the most effective at this was the trebuchet.  A Trebuchet is a medieval siege engine which uses a huge counterweight attached to a large lever arm.  When this arm is in the loaded position, and the potential energy is released, it can hurl large stones at the castle walls, while safely out of the range of the castle archers. 

After watching a movie about "Warwolf" form NOVA and PBS, we decided to build our own trebuchets. 

During this project, the students learn about simple machines, how forces and energy can be used, and learn some basic building skills.  This project challenges the students to use their resources, and their knowledge to solve problems that they are given.  That is the definition of technology, and that is the goal of this project. 

The finished projects look something like this...

As with any learning experience, there has to be vocabulary, so here is a PowerPoint for you to look at.

the simulator is here

There are some great directions for making your own trebuchet out of popsicle sticks and glue.  you may need to make some modifications to get the finished product, but overall it works rather well.