Building a Catapult for Kids {Simple Catapult = Catapult Games}

ByNess Updated on

Building a catapult for kids can make you the coolest mom or dad on the block.   Today we have some instructions on how to make a simple catapult.   Of course, we at Kids Activities Blog know that if your kid has a device like this they will surely want to play some catapult games.   Have fun!

Building a Catapult for Kids {Simple Catapult = Catapult Games}

Building a Catapult

This simple home made catapult has been a huge hit with my son. We made it using very basic household items and had lots of fun working out which configuration would work best. Watching the pom poms fly across the table has kept us entertained as we see who can launch their pom poms the furthest.

How to Make a Simple Catapult

For this simple catapult you will need:

3 cardboard tubes

a wooden spoon ( a plastic spoon will also work well)

4 elastic bands

pom poms, marshmallows, scrunched up balls of paper or other soft items for launching

Easy steps for building a catapult PLUS a few catapult games to play with your simple catapult!

Simple Catapult

Steps for making a simple catapult

1. Lay two of the cardboard tubes side by side and then place the third tube on top of the first two to form a triangle shaped stack.

2. Fasten the tubes together with an elastic band at each end – these are the white elastic bands in the photos.

3. Next, position the wooden spoon at the front of the tubes, and loop an elastic band over the top of the spoon, stretch it around the tubes and then bring it back over itself at the top of the spoon so it holds the spoon to the tubes. This is shown by the red elastic band in the photos.

4. Finally, take the last elastic band, loop it over the handle of the wooden spoon, take it around the cardboard tubes, and back over the spoon as shown by the black elastic band in the photos. The photo below shows another close up view of these elastic bands.

Building a catapult for kids is easy! Try this simple catapult and have fun with our catapult games

Launch Catapult

To launch the pom poms,   hold the cardboard tubes with one hand or secure them to a table with masking tape like we did. Use your other hand to position a pom pom on the wooden spoon, pull the spoon back and then release and watch those pom poms fly!

Catapult games are the perfect reward for completion of building a catapult {Super Simple Catapult}

Catapult Games

Some of our pom poms flew a very long way – more than the length of our dining table. My son had fun simply launching the pom poms and seeing where they would land, but you could make all sorts of target games with this simple catapult. Try lining up some paper cups and try landing the pom poms inside the cups – you could even have a points system where different cups are worth different points.

More Kids Activities

Did you  ever think that building a catapult could be so easy?   This simple catapult is fun for kids (and adults too!).   For more exciting kids activities, take a shot at these:

Ness is the creator of One Perfect Day a site full of creative ideas for kids to play and learn, family recipes, children's book reviews and information about positive parenting and connecting with our children. Ness loves creating fun kids ™ activities and has decided that permanently having paint under her fingernails and play dough in her hair is a fashion statement. You can find One Perfect Day on Facebook and Twitter or follow along on Pinterest

23 Comments

  1. This is fantastic. My son would LOVE it.

  2. I really like what you guys are up too. This sort of clever work and coverage!
    Keep up the superb works guys I’ve included you guys to our blogroll.

  4. Tiffany R says:

    This is so simple and so fun! My four year old has been playing with it for hours! Now him and his friend and making all new games to play using their new catapult.

  5. When I was a teacher my class made marshmallow catapults to study simple machines (the fulcrum, lever, load, etc.) Then we launched them, estimated distance, and measured to determine winners- SO much fun! GREAT tutorial!

  6. This is a great DIY catapult. Thanks for sharing with Afterschool!

  7. My son would love this!!

  10. That is a fun ˜hidden ™ science post. These catapults look like a blast to make and play with too. Thank you for linking up this week to the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop 🙂

  11. I think this is rock. Thanks for sharing at CAL link party 🙂

  12. What a fun and safe way to play with kids LOL I just imagine myself playing with my girl LOL. Thanks so much for sharing this with me at Bewitch Me & Titi! Hope to have you back with more amazing shares! Hope you are having a marvellous week!!!

    XOXO
    Cami @ TitiCrafty.com

  13. That catapult looks like so much fun! It would be a great project to do with a history lesson. I’m going to put this on my Pinterest page. Thanks for sharing.

  15. I love this idea!! Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!

  16. What fun!! I just pinned this and will be sharing on Facebook as one of the great features at Freedom Fridays!!

    Hugs and thanks for supporting Freedom Fridays!!

  17. Jeannette says:

    Love this!! I pinned it to my homeschool board and plan on using it with my boys this week!! So much fun!! Thanks!!

  18. i love it

  19. Kristen Yard says:

    So fun!

  20. Bandy Jones says:

    The instructions aren’t very clear with looping the elastic bands over the spoon.

  21. Kristen Yard says:

    Thank you for your feedback!

  22. horsegirlgrace says:

    amazing! I’m ten in year four and I found this really fun. it helped me a lot with a project. thanks!

  23. Kristen Yard says:

    We are so glad to hear that!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.