How to Build a Greek Catapult
Ancient armies developed the catapult as a siege weapon during the middle ages. When keeping a town, village or castle under siege, Greek engineers would instruct the soldiers on how to build a Greek catapult to hurl large rocks and burning missiles at and over the walls to wear down the inhabitant's fortitude for withstanding the siege. If you are a budding engineer, you can build a model catapult and test the accuracy and range of this ancient weapon of war.
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Things You'll Need
- One wooden block or 12 craft sticks
- Two wooden spring-type clothespins
- One rubber band
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- One jumbo craft stick
- One plastic bottle cap
- Various small objects such as raisins, marshmallows, cotton balls or paper balls
Instructions
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1
Build a square frame by gluing the ends of four craft sticks together. Lay eight more craft sticks parallel to the sides across the open space and glue them to the frame. Alternatively, you can use a simple wooden block as the catapult platform.
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2
Stack the two clothespins on top of one another. Glue them together facing the same direction.
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3
Twist a rubber band several times around the top piece of the upper clothes pin (the end that you push on to open the clothespin). Slide a jumbo craft stick under the bands and glue a plastic bottle cap to the opposite end. Let the glue dry thoroughly.
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4
Place a small object such as raisins, marshmallows, cotton balls or paper balls into the cup on the craft stick lever. Depress the clothespins to fully open the pinching ends and let go to watch your projectile fly.
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References
Resources
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