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Your students will have seen films with trebuchets in them, used throughout the Middle Ages (and of course Middle Earth), but did they ever think they would build one for themselves?
Workshop Challenge offers students the opportunity to make either desktop trebuchets or playing field ones.
DESKTOP TREBUCHETS
The students are shown a large working trebuchet and the principles behind its operation are explained. In the classroom they are given the materials, simple hand tools, the knowledge and guidance from WSC staff, to make their own desktop trebuchets capable of throwing bean bags.
When the machines are ready they are taken to a high hall or outside and competed against each for both distance and accuracy.
The competition finale has the teams machines throwing at each other in a knock out tournament.
PLAYING FIELD TREBUCHETS
As with desktop trebuchets the students are given all they need to make trebuchets around 3.5m tall and then they compete them to throw lead filled tennis balls at a castle 60m away.
The key learning intentions and engineering principles covered are:
• Working as a team, team management and collective decision making
• Practical application of knowledge learned
• Development of fabrication skills
• Kinetic energy
• Potential energy
• Transfer of energy
• Material selection
• Pivots
• Levers
• Design
• Beams
• Inertia
• Trajectory
A learning resources pack will be sent at the time of booking.
Recommended for Keystage 4 and 5. This project is run as a full day session.
The cost includes the attendance of 1WSC staff member with all the necessary tools and materials to undertake the project, though of course you can book as many WSC staff as your numbers require.
Below are recommended student numbers per staff member to maximise the experience, though it is possible to increase the student numbers and so reduce per head costs.
Desktop Trebuchets:
Team sizes : 4-6
Teams per WSC staff : 2-3 (maximum 6)
Price per WSC staff : £495 (including all tools and materials)
The school gets to keep the trebuchets at the end of the build.
Playing Field Trebuchets:
Team sizes : 4-6
Teams per WSC staff : 2 (maximum 3)
Price per WSC staff : £550 (including all tools and materials)
The school gets to keep the trebuchets at the end of the build.