Eighth graders in Lisa Giddings science class use a slingshot they designed and built to launch a clay ball to a target one meter away. From left to right: Olivia Shirring, Savannah Schneider, Zoe Carroll, Ava Fout, Paige Griffin and Abby Bischoff. The goal of the experiment was to give students a chance to learn and use the scientific method.
Glenn Battishill | The Gazette
Eighth graders Carter Gusler, Sebastian Recker, and Mateo Angulo watch their clay ball fly through their air after launching it with the catapult they designed.
Glenn Battishill | The Gazette
Some eighth graders at Dempsey Middle School got hands-on this week as they researched and constructed a miniature “pumpkin chunkin” launcher.
Science teacher Lisa Giddings said the goal of the inquiry-based lab was to give students a chance to use the scientific method, and their object was to build a device to launch a small ball of clay one meter onto a target.
“They were presented with creating a launcher that is essentially a ‘pumpkin chunkin” launcher,” Giddings said. “We watched videos of where they build those really big ones and the idea is that you launch the pumpkin as far as you can go, but the challenge in this lab is hitting a target, so it’s more controlled.”
Giddings said she gave them a supply of materials and was pleased to see students pursue so many different designs.
“They had to research and go through the scientific method and research different design methods that would accomplish that goal,” she said. “They had to draw a blueprint, test, design and build it. It was about giving them an opportunity to do the scientific method. Every launcher was different. Sometimes the most intricate design is not successful or you can have two of the same designs but one works and one doesn’t comes down to execution of how they’ve done the design.”
Sebastian Recker, a student in the class who said he enjoyed the project, helped his teammates operate their design, a modified spoon that served as a catapult.
“It was pretty fun,” Recker said. “It was slightly annoying when we had to change a design because we used string instead of a rubber band, and it did not work.”
Recker said he and his teammates laughed when the catapult misfired and sent the clay into one of their faces, instead of the target.
“He did not like getting hit in the face, but we did laugh about it,” Recker said with a laugh. “I learned the first idea you have is not always correct.”
Olivia Shirring and her team essentially created a slingshot and were able to fling their clay ball to the target and beyond.
“I thought it was really fun,” Shirring said Friday. “I enjoyed the building part and trying different things. Testing was really fun to see if it actually worked. I learned a lot about being collaborative and working with people that might not have the same ideas as you and compromising to get what works the best.”
Giddings said she hopes her students took away that “the scientific method is not linear.”
“You have to go back and retest and redesign,” she said. “Some of their designs did not work the way they were supposed to so they had to go back and redo their design or come up with a new idea. We learn from our mistakes. Science is all about trial and error.”
Giddings said the experiment was also about giving students experience working in groups.
“I like the communication that the kids are doing with each other,” she said. “I always tell them science is collaborative. Scientists don’t just work by themselves. They peer review and replicate experiments. They are getting that opportunity in the classroom.”
Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903.
