On Friday, October 5th, the students of the three AP Physics classes brought their one-month long catapult project to a close. After laborious hours spent creating a catapult design from scratch, building a catapult, testing the contraption, and conducting calculations, students were finally put to the task of launching a stuffed wolf at two designated target distances-and most of them succeeded.

At first, the process of building the catapult was a difficult struggle. “Our hinge kept splitting and initially the pieces in the catapult didn’t stay together very well,” stated senior Becca Hoklas, in Ms. Glover’s 1st hour class.

“Sometimes we couldn’t get it to go the full distance that we wanted it to go,” explained junior Maddie Mocchi. “We also had a problem with the cup that we used to hold the [object] that we were launching. It fell off during flight a few times.”

“We built it, but we realized that we had to make some changes, so we took it apart and rebuilt it,” added junior Sara Kilhoffer.

Yet, several students found the struggle a worthwhile experience. “It was really fun to get into the project,” described Sara. “I like challenges like that. It’s why all of us are in this class.”

Sara, whose catapult hit the two required targets, thoroughly enjoyed the project. “It definitely helped me understand what we learned [in class] a lot better,” she clarified. “It also helped me learn how to work in a group.”

Maddie learned some unforgettable lessons from the project as well. “I thought [that] after we built it, it would be easy to work with, but it [was] not,” she said. “It’s harder than I thought it would be.”

As she has done for the past several years, Ms. Glover plans to continue the catapult project in the future due to its fruitful benefits upon the students. “They get the chance to build something that fits criteria and work in teams, which is a useful skill,” she explained. “The projects are another way to see physics apart from tests and quizzes. It’s a way to have more fun.”