Marshmallow Catapult For STEM

How To Make A Marshmallow Catapult

Materials Needed: 

• Jumbo Marshmallows {4}
• Mini Marshmallows {launchers}
• Wooden Skewers (7)
• Plastic Spoon
• Rubberband
• Tape

Instructions:

1. Place three marshmallows in a triangle shape on a table. Connect with skewers. Your triangle should lay on the table.

2. Take a skewer and stick it into the top of each marshmallow roughly.

3. Bring the tops of the skewers together in the middle and stick all of them into one marshmallow. (See the photo above)

4. Tape a spoon to another skewer. Stick this skewer into one of the marshmallows below the skewer already in place.

5. Take the rubber band and wind around spoon and then loop end of rubber band around marshmallow and bringing it underneath the marshmallow {should not be on marshmallow}.

Launch Your Marshmallows

Now is the fun part! Time to test your marshmallow catapult! We used mini marshmallows as our launchers. You could also use mini pencil erasers or anything else you think will launch well without breaking anything or injuring someone.

With one hand gently hold down the jumbo marshmallow that has the skewer spoon stuck in it. With the other hand push down the lever filling the marshmallow with potential energy! Let it go and check out all the kinetic energy your mini marshmallow now has.

Grab a measuring tape and see if you can beat your best distance. Can you do anything differently to change the distance your mini marshmallow travels?

How Does A Catapult Work?

This is a great simple physics activity for kids of multiple ages. What is there to explore that has to do with physics? Let’s start with energy including elastic potential energy. You can also learn about projectile motion.

Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion state that an object at rest stays at rest until a force is applied, and an object stays in motion until something creates an imbalance. Every action causes a reaction.

When you pull down the lever arm all that potential energy gets stored up! Release it and that potential energy gradually changes over to kinetic energy. Gravity also does its part as it pulls the object back down to the ground.

Learn more about potential and kinetic energy.

You can talk about stored energy or potential elastic energy as you pull back on the spoon, bending it. When you release the spoon, all that potential energy is released into energy in motion producing the projectile motion.

A catapult is a simple machine that has been around for ages. Have your kids dig up a little history and research when the first catapults were invented and used! Hint; check out the 17th century!

TIP: Check out more fun simple machine projects and grab the simple machine worksheets!

More Fun Catapult Designs

Take your experimentation even further and compare the results with different types of catapults? Is one better than the other? Does one launch different items better then another?

• Popsicle Stick Catapult
• Plastic Spoon Catapult
• LEGO Catapult
• Pencil Catapult

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STEM Activities With Marshmallows

Want more fun things to do with marshmallows? Try these ideas…

• Make Edible Slime
• 3D Marshmallow Shapes
• Make an igloo craft
• Spaghetti marshmallow challenge
• Marshmallow and toothpicks

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Printable STEM Project Pack For Kids

80+ Doable Engineering Projects in one convenient pack!

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