DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - As the weather gets colder, you may be looking for new ways to keep your kids entertained. Sunshine Supplies for Teachers, a nonprofit providing school supplies to local educators, helped WAND News create an easy activity you can do with your kids at home. 

Materials: 

  • 5 rubber bands
  • 10 popsicle sticks
  • Small items to launch (pieces of candy, pom poms, etc.)
  • Bottle cap (optional)
  • Glue (optional)

Instructions: 

  1. Stack eight popsicle sticks on top of each other. Secure them by wrapping a rubber band around each end until they are tight.
  2. Stack two popsicle sticks on top of each other, securing one end with one popsicle stick.
  3. Pinch the stack of two popsicle sticks open on the same side as the rubber band. Slide the large stack of popsicle sticks inside.
  4. Attach the two stacks by wrapping two rubber bands in an x-shape around both sets of popsicle sticks.
  5. (Optional) Glue the bottle cap to the elevated end of the catapult arm. 

The catapult can be launched by holding the base (large stack of sticks) down on either side and pulling the catapult arm down until it bends. 

You can customize how the catapult is used based on your child's age range and available materials. Get creative based on what you have. Kids can launch cotton balls at empty toilet paper rolls decorated as snowmen. Now they can have a snowball fight inside! 

Kids can also launch candy pumpkins into bowls. See how many times in a row they can make it into a bowl! 

"Some people may think this is just a game, but kids are learning so much about science," said Crystal Hoadley, Executive Director of Sunshine Supplies for teachers. "Catapults teach kids about force and motion and projectile motions." 

Hoadley added that kids can learn about the scientific method by testing how moving their catapult forward and backward, or pulling the arm down at different angles, affects the arch and distance of their projectile. It can be important for kids to fail a few times, so they learn how to think critically, explained Hoadley. 

While these are materials you likely have around your home, Sunshine Supplies also keeps all of the materials stocked for educators hoping to do the activity in their own classrooms. 

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