Our Freeman sixth grade students completed the annual science catapult project on Friday, August 21, 2020 to begin the 2020-2021 school year in Mr. Floth’s science classes. To receive full credit, each student was asked to design a catapult that would launch a cotton ball forward. The cotton balls were able to be wrapped in one rubber band. The students found that this added mass was a benefit in making the cotton ball gain distance. I’ve used this process each year to show students that science is fun, yet challenging. Students begin to learn to research, design, edit and adapt while building their catapult. They are allowed to use any means necessary in the engineering of this project and have any help they choose to build. 

Catapults came to school in all shapes and sizes, with varying degrees of success. Students were tasked with launching their catapults three times and recording their distances in centimeters. Next, they found the average distance, analyzed their data and constructed a response to the project. The sixth graders explained the positives and challenges of the design process, shared their success and gave input to changes they anticipate would improve the outcome if the testing was repeated. Each student was successful this year in launching their cotton ball forward, which led to a fun Friday morning activity of learning.