Pumpkin Chunkin'

On Halloween, we did a really cute STEM activity in the classroom. My students are used to me just popping up and saying we are going to try something new. For our Science lesson today, we watched the preview for pumpkin chunkin' on youtube that I found from my high school alma mater. Love that my high school does a whole Mythbusters science class. How cool is that? Anyway, we also visited some websites about pumpkin chunkin and how to make catapults.


We reviewed some websites about Pumpkin Chunkin'

http://www.punkinchunkin.com/

http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/punkin-chunkin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin_chunking


http://www.stormthecastle.com/catapult/popsiclestick-catapult.htm

http://teachingboys.net/2012/09/27/how-to-build-a-catapult-out-of-popsicle-sticks/


I then put the students in teams and gave them some materials and had them begin the process of making a popsicle stick catapult. They had to plan, draw, create, test, revise, and then be ready for pumpkin chunkin'

Materials:
Small popsicle sticks
Large popsicle sticks
Rubber bands
Water Bottles
Masking Tape
Duct Tape
Paperclips
Cardboard Boxes (I had been collecting my birchbox boxes for this activity)

Plan: They spent some time with their team talking about the catapults we had seen and how they could do that with the materials I provided.

Draw:
They had to draw the catapult and label it with the materials they would need. I gave them exactly what was listed as the materials they would need. If they needed different items they had to bring me an updated plan.


Create:
They had thirty minutes to create their catapult.

Test:
We went outside and did a test run with the catapults.

Rework:
The student then had 15 minutes to make adjustments to the catapults.

Pumpkin Chunkin':
We then went out and used our catapults to launch little candy pumpkins up the sidewalk. The students had a blast.

Writing:
The students came in and wrote about their pumpkin chunkin experience and what worked, what didn't work, and what they would do now. I think we might laugh easter eggs in the spring... so they will get to revist the catapult and put their revisions into action!


On a side note:
We aren't the only ones interested in pumpkin chunkin' apparently! This is a PTA video of a school doing some pumpkin chunkin'.

http://vimeo.com/78476466