Third graders launched themselves into the final STEAM challenge of the year by building catapults at Forest Lake Elementary School. It was a way for students to show their knowledge of the engineering design process.

STEAM teacher Alexa Del Piano said that the young builders could either work independently or with a partner. Their materials included wooden sticks, rubber bands, bottle caps and tape. Before building, they had to design a plan on the computer.

The project combined several subject areas. They explored scientific principles like energy and tension and used their math skills to measure the distance the small pom poms traveled. Students made predictions before launching. There was even an artistic component as students could decorate their catapults. 

After watching a quick video, the young engineers were off. They applied their knowledge from the many STEAM challenges this year to build a successful device. And just like real engineers, if it didn’t work the first time, they went back and tried again.