Ancient Engineering SeriesCatapult Kits
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Fundamentals of Hurling CD-ROM bundle


Give a man a fish, he eats for a day.
Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.
-- Chinese proverb.

You could spend $59 on a kit, and have one catapult. Or you could spend $59 on information, principles of design and construction, software simulators, history, images and detailed descriptions, and enjoy a lifetime's worth of catapult skills and know-how.

Get it all here- over $100 value if purchased separately! On this CD you'll get the complete and full versions of these:


  • PVC Plans, The plans and instructions to build your own Trebuchet from PVC pipe and fittings.

  • ATreb, the software trebuchet simulator. Type in your specifications, and it will tell you how far, how high, stress levels on your machine and you can even optimize key aspects of your machine!

  • FATSIM, Same as above, but for the Floating Arm Trebuchet variants. I used it to design the piano tossing trebuchet used in the TV show "In The Name Of Science"

  • "Catapult Design, Construction and Competition", The e-book that describes the national catapult and trebuchet competitions of the 1960s and 70s. Includes design specs, competition rules, result records and personal reflections.

  • "The Projectile Throwing Engines of the Ancients", originally published in 1901, by Ralph Payne-Gallwey, and based on his extensive research, this book defined much of what we know today in the catapult arts. Excellent bibliography!

  • "The Onager Manuscript", by Brian Lapham. This one gives explicit details on how to build an Onager or Mangonel, and the philosophy behind its construction. A great read that's also a great project!

  • Artwork, More than a dozen pictures and artwork of ancient machines, drawings, and depictions of siege engines in battle. Some are rare and hard to find images, others are more useful as examples. All are high quality, high resolution images. Smaller versions of all images are included too!



If purchased separately this bundle would cost over $100 !! This is a special deal for one CD-ROM with all of these products at one special bundle price.

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    Price: $59.95
    Our Price: $39.95
    Minimum age: 8
    Availability: out of stock

    Item code: 99010

Notes:
Why should a kid
build a catapult?

Because the world needs good engineers and scientists, and because the kids who will grow up to become engineers and scientists need a way to get hands-on experience with physics, math and engineering.

In this age of 200-plus channels of TV, the Internet and computer games, kids are also spending far less time building tree houses, tinkering with engines, or designing downhill racers. We believe those are important skills to have. They help form the basis for good problem solving skills and an innate understanding of the real, physical world that you just can't get from a computer game, no matter how good its physics simulation software is.

Ballistic motion was one of the key players in the development of the science of physics. The word "engineer" even originated as the builders and designer of Siege Engines

Why is a budding engineering student expected to take a year or two of calculus in high school, but she isn't expected to have any real-world experience in building or working with machines and materials? Pencil and paper (or computer screens) are only one part of the learning experience. Where will she apply all of the stuff she learned in geometry and trig? Without physical projects to touch, feel and see, the lessons become abstract, their utility questionable.

A catapult project gives students a chance to see that science and engineering really can be fun, and it's a lot more than just numbers on paper. The real payoff for an engineer is in the field, where she can see and enjoy the results of her ingenuity. And it may seem counterintuitive, but engineering projects not only help kids learn math and science, they are also great at getting kids back outdoors, away from the massive over-exposure to video games, TV and the Internet.

Why all this interest in getting kids to study science and engineering? Because it's important to our society, and it's great mental cross training regardless of what field of work the kids eventually go into. Most people develop a sense for what they want to do in life while they are still in high school or even earlier. A catapult project is fun and interesting enough to inspire some kids to study the science behind how they work, and then go on to become the engineers and scientists of tomorrow.