Build a Catapult to Launch Thanksgiving Table Favors

The smell of turkey fills the house, your relatives are gathering, and you're desperately searching for something—anything—to keep your tweens and teens engaged that doesn't involve screens. You're not alone. According to Common Sense Media, teens spend an average of 8.5 hours daily on screens, while tweens clock in at nearly 5.5 hours. This Thanksgiving, you have the perfect opportunity to break that pattern with a DIY thanksgiving catapult project that combines physics, creativity, and a whole lot of fun.

Imagine your kids actually excited about a hands-on activity. Picture your teenager explaining torque and trajectory to their younger cousin. This isn't just wishful thinking—it's what happens when you introduce a project that challenges their minds while giving them something tangible to build and launch. A thanksgiving catapult craft transforms passive screen time into active learning, and the best part? You probably have most of the materials already sitting in your garage or craft closet.

The Purpose Behind the Project

Building a catapult isn't just about launching miniature pumpkins across the dining room (though that's definitely entertaining). This thanksgiving engineering project tackles multiple challenges parents face during the holiday season.

First, it creates meaningful family bonding time. When your teen is calibrating their launcher and your tween is decorating ammunition, they're working together toward a common goal. The natural collaboration that emerges beats forced "family time" every single time.

Second, it sneaks in serious STEM learning. Your kids are exploring lever mechanics, potential and kinetic energy, projectile motion, and structural engineering—all without realizing they're essentially doing physics homework. The learning feels invisible because the fun is so front and center.

Third, it gives purpose to the Thanksgiving gathering. Instead of kids disappearing into bedrooms with devices, you've created a fall STEM activity that becomes the centerpiece of your celebration. Suddenly, everyone wants to test their catapult against Uncle Mike's design or see whose pumpkin launcher DIY can achieve the greatest distance.

Materials and Building Your Catapult

You don't need fancy equipment for this simple catapult for kids. Start with what you have, then get creative.

Basic Popsicle Stick Catapult

This beginner catapult build works perfectly for tweens and younger teens. You'll need 9-10 popsicle sticks, 5-7 rubber bands, a plastic spoon, and a bottle cap or small cup. Stack seven sticks together and secure both ends with rubber bands. Take two more sticks and secure one end with a rubber band, creating a V-shape. Slide the stack of seven between the two sticks at the rubber-banded end, then wrap another rubber band in a cross pattern to secure everything. Attach your spoon to the top stick as the launching arm.

The beauty of this design? Your tween can build it in 15 minutes, but the optimization can last for hours. Should they adjust the fulcrum point? Add more rubber bands for tension? These questions lead to experimentation and real scientific thinking.

Advanced Mousetrap Catapult

Older teens ready for a challenge will love converting a standard mousetrap into a powerful launcher. This turkey launcher project requires a wooden mousetrap, a wooden spoon, duct tape, hot glue, and a small wooden base (try a cutting board or piece of plywood).

Remove the bait holder from the trap. Attach the wooden spoon to the trap's spring arm using duct tape and hot glue—the bowl of the spoon should face upward when the trap is set. Secure the entire trap to your wooden base with hot glue or small screws. This creates a surprisingly powerful launcher that introduces concepts of stored mechanical energy and rapid release mechanisms.

What makes this thanksgiving physics experiment particularly engaging is the immediate cause-and-effect. Your teen sets the trap, loads the ammunition, releases the trigger, and instantly sees the results of their engineering choices.

Cardboard and Pencil Catapult

This version uses materials you definitely have at home: cardboard, pencils, rubber bands, scissors, and tape. Cut a rectangular base from sturdy cardboard (about 6x8 inches). Create two support triangles from cardboard and attach them to the base. Place a pencil across the top of the triangles to serve as your fulcrum. Cut a throwing arm from cardboard, attach a bottle cap to one end, and balance it on the pencil. Add rubber bands to provide spring tension.

This homemade catapult tutorial offers endless customization. Your kids can adjust the arm length, change the fulcrum position, or experiment with different rubber band configurations. Each modification teaches them about mechanical advantage and energy transfer.

Making It Thanksgiving-Themed

Transform Your Engineering Project into a Thanksgiving Table Game

Transform your engineering project into a thanksgiving table game by adding festive elements that make it feel special rather than like a random Tuesday activity.

Ammunition Options

Forget boring projectiles. Use mini marshmallows, candy corn, small chocolate turkeys, foam pumpkins, or acorns. Create "ammunition stations" where family members can choose their projectiles. This naturally leads to discussions about weight, aerodynamics, and trajectory—without anyone feeling lectured.

One parent shared that her daughter spent an entire afternoon testing different candy types to find the optimal weight-to-aerodynamics ratio. That's the kind of deep engagement you're aiming for with this autumn STEM challenge.

Target Creation

Set up Thanksgiving-themed targets around your space. Draw a turkey on cardboard with point values for different sections. Create a "harvest basket" target that scores points for successful landings. Design a "Mayflower" ship target with various point zones.

The target practice transforms the catapult from a build-it-once project into an ongoing thanksgiving party game DIY. Suddenly, you have an activity that lasts throughout the entire holiday weekend, not just one afternoon.

Decoration Ideas

Encourage your kids to personalize their launchers. Paint them in fall colors—orange, red, yellow, and brown. Add turkey feathers to the launching arm. Attach googly eyes to create turkey faces on the base. Use markers to write team names or physics puns ("The Gobble-pults" or "Gravy Launchers").

This artistic element engages kids who might not initially connect with the engineering aspects. Your creative tween who rolls their eyes at "science projects" might fully invest once they can make their catapult look amazing.

Quick Wins: Start Here

Not sure where to begin with your thanksgiving science project? These five starting points make the process painless:

Gather materials today. Walk through your house right now and collect popsicle sticks, rubber bands, plastic spoons, and any cardboard boxes. Having materials visible makes starting easier than hunting for supplies tomorrow.

Watch one tutorial together. Spend ten minutes with your teen or tween browsing video tutorials for this educational thanksgiving craft. Let them choose which design appeals to them most—ownership increases engagement.

Start with the simplest version. Don't overwhelm yourself or your kids with complex designs. The basic popsicle stick catapult takes 15 minutes but provides the same physics lessons as more complicated builds.

Create a competition framework. Announce a "Thanksgiving Catapult Championship" with categories like longest distance, most accurate, best decorated, and most creative ammunition. Competition motivates in ways that instruction never can.

Document the process. Give your kids permission to photograph or video their builds and tests. They can create a highlight reel or compilation, which scratches that digital creation itch without passive scrolling.

Making Memories Beyond Screens

This family thanksgiving activity delivers something rare: an experience your kids will actually remember years from now. They won't recall which video they watched on Thanksgiving 2024, but they'll absolutely remember the year they launched candy corn at Grandma's carefully crafted turkey target.

The physics knowledge sticks because it's connected to laughter, competition, and creation. The engineering principles make sense because your teen experienced them rather than reading about them in a textbook. And the screen-free hours happen naturally, without nagging or rule enforcement.

You're not just building a catapult. You're building confidence, curiosity, and connection.

What Will You Launch?

What Thanksgiving table favor would your family most want to launch across the room? Mini pumpkins? Chocolate turkeys? Something completely unexpected?

Need help tailoring this project to your specific family dynamics or your kids' interests? Reach out to WizardHQ@AngelinaAllsop.com with your questions, challenges, or ideas. We'd love to help you make this thanksgiving catapult project perfectly relevant for your unique crew.