Eighth Graders Launch Into Science Lesson
Morghan Lewis’ eighth grade science classes recently took over the quad and soared into their engineering unit with handmade catapults.
“The task was to engineer a catapult to launch paint onto a canvas,” Lewis explained. “The students used their knowledge of projectile motion and the engineering design process to successfully complete this task.” Students used a wide range of materials including popsicle sticks, glue, rubber bands and spoons to build their catapults.
According to Ginger Yancovich ’26, it took a great deal of trial and error to get paint-filled cotton balls to hurtle in the air. “We learned how to create effective catapults with only the materials we brought into class,” she said. “We would build a catapult, then test it, make adjustments, then do it again until we were satisfied.”
In order for Azariah Charles ’26 to splatter the canvas with paint, she “learned that combining her knowledge of force, accuracy and angles was helpful.”
Charles worked with classmates Caleb Grasheim ‘26, Bella Levine ’26 and Will Teitelbaum ’26, to strategize a successful launch. “My group was divided into two groups: one group worked on the main model and the second group worked on the backup model,” Charles said. “Then we would check in with each other on the progress of the models.”
Lewis acknowledged this project was a great way to appreciate her students’ level of “engagement, creativity and final products of both the catapults and the canvases.”
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