OXFORD, Miss. – Students in high school and middle school will compete in the third annual Gravity-Driven Catapult (Trebuchet) Hurling Competition Tuesday (April 21) at the University of Mississippi.
The
competition begins at 9 a.m. in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and features
more than 15 trebuchet teams from nine schools around the state. The
event is sponsored by the UM School of Engineering and the Mississippi
Junior Academy of Science. The public, including school groups, are
welcome to watch the competition.
Teams within individual schools will begin hurling at 9 a.m. to determine the two trebuchet teams that will represent their school in the final competition. After all trebuchets have been officially weighed and measured, the final competition will begin between 1 and 1:30 p.m.
“Engineers from FedEx in Memphis will be talking with students and judging the trebuchet designs,” said Maxine Woolsey, educational outreach specialist in the School of Engineering and coordinator of the event. “Every student on every trebuchet team will have an opportunity to talk with engineers about their trebuchet design and construction.”
Activities are planned throughout the day for the expected 182 visiting students and teachers. They will have the opportunity to visit UM’s science, engineering and mathematics departments for tours and lab demonstrations. Upon registration, the students will receive T-shirts and be enrolled as members of MJAS.
An awards program is scheduled at 4 p.m., with winners chosen based on hurling distance and accuracy, as well as the trebuchet’s height and design.
Past competitions were so successful that the activities have been moved outside this year to provide opportunities for students to design and construct even larger catapults, Woolsey said. The trebuchets can be up to 7-feet long in the rest position and can weigh up to 90 pounds.
“Much of the success of the events has been the interaction between the high school students and the (UM) engineering students,” Woolsey said. “The engineering students will facilitate the competition and record the scores.”
For additional information on the competition, contact Maxine Woolsey at mwoolsey@olemiss.edu or 662-915-1849. To request assistance related to a disability, contact the School of Engineering at 662-915-7407. For more information on the School of Engineering, go to http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/engineering?school/ .