LEGO® Building Challenge: Build something that will launch a ping pong ball!

Build a Lego Catapult

For those of you who enjoy participating in our LEGO® Fun Friday building challenges, I apologize that we have not done any in a very long time! Unfortunately, I have hit the third trimester of pregnancy and really can’t commit to anything too structured. But I will try to share new LEGO® challenges with you whenever I can!

Last week the boys were passing around two different viruses, and while everyone was on the mend we needed some “school” projects that would keep the boys constructively occupied. They were feeling too good for endless movies, but not good enough to tackle diagramming sentences or working math problems. We had fun building some LEGO® catapults!

Aidan designed this catapult himself. All of the parts came from the LEGO® Klutz book set called Crazy Action Contraptions. We bought this book for Aidan’s 10th birthday, and he loves it. I highly recommend it for the child who enjoys engineering type toys! It comes with 105 LEGO® parts and a book with 16 projects to build. Kids can make things like a rubber band powered car, an extendable arm, and a device that holds a pen and draws.

To build the catapult, you will these (or similar) pieces:

Build a Lego Catapult

The square is built from 2 2×6 flat pieces and 2 4×1 flat pieces. Under those are two 4×1 bricks and two 8×1 bricks.

The white arm is made from 2 10×1 bricks and 2 1×2 bricks. The 10×1 bricks are held together with gray connector pegs.

How to Build a Lego Catapult

Slide the grooved rod through the holes in the top bricks, and hold them on with the red pieces. (The book calls them red bushings.)

Build a Lego Catapult

Then set up your rubber band like this:

Build a Lego Catapult

The finished catapult has a good amount of torque and shoots really well!

Build a Lego Catapult

For younger kids, wheels work great for building a simple catapult.

Build a Lego Catapult

We experimented to find the best position along the gray flat piece for the fulcrum (the wheels) so that the ping pong ball would get the most power. What a great way to learn!

More LEGO® Building Ideas:

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6 Comments

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  1. Lorie Jan 28, 2014

    My son will love this! Thank you!

    Reply
  2. Jenny @ The Brick Castle Jan 28, 2014

    When I saw 'Lego Catapult' I though...crikey.... :D
    Thankfully it isn't what I imagined! Excellent idea for outside I think - or we'd have complaints from the bigger siblings when they were attacked :D

    Reply
  3. Stephanie Whittle Feb 1, 2014

    This is awesome! Pinning! Thanks for sharing at After School!

    Reply
  4. Anna@The Measured Mom Feb 3, 2014

    Thanks for another great play idea! Featuring today at the After School Linky.

    Reply
  5. Clarissa Hooper Feb 5, 2014

    Wow- great idea! When I was teaching my students were required to make a marshmallow catapults (for our study of simple machines). Nobody every used legos though! Love it!

    Reply
  6. JozianaK Feb 10, 2017

    Just stumbled onto your website (YEAH!!) My boys *love* being creative with Legos as well. Thank you and your children *so much* for taking the time and effort to share your lives and experiences to teach and share with everyone else. Many blessings to you all. .

    Reply

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