Catapult Challenge

Catapult Challenge 2026

Catapult designs must incorporate a quick release mechanism and will be judged on the catapult’s furthest distance achieved launching a golf ball (best of three attempts).

Have your team? Sign ups will open the week of the kickoff!

Entry form is due Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026 at 6pm

Competition Info/Workshop Day:

Friday, November 6, 2026 at 4:30pm in SILab: 44 Cummington Mall, 1st floor

Competition Build Days:

Saturday, November 14, 2026 Noon-6pm in SILab: 44 Cummington Mall, 1st floor

Sunday, November 15, 2026 Noon-6pm in SILab: 44 Cummington Mall, 1st floor

Competition/Launch Day:

Saturday, November 21, 2026 at Noon at Nickerson Field, 1010 Commonwealth Ave

Participate or watch – invite your friends!

Prizes:

  • 1st Prize – $500
  • 2nd Prize – $250
  • 3rd Prize – $100

Competition Guidelines:

  • Teams must use only supplies offered during build day, and items provided in general lab stock
  • Teams will have 1 full day to build the catapult (Saturday or Sunday, 12-6pm). You will be assigned a day.
  • Teams must comprise 2 or more Boston University students, and at least one must be a College of Engineering student. If you do not have a team, attend the workshop and you can be paired with a team.
  • Competition is open to both undergraduate and graduate students
  • Catapults must fit in a 2 x 3 x 3′ window
  • Teams will only have access to minimal tools, provided in the lab
  • Students will not be able to use their body as a part of their device
  • You will need to provide all email addresses for all teammates and you will need to respond quickly to event organizers, so that proper planning can be done to accommodate all those interested.

Competition Materials:

  • 2 x 4″ lumber, wood screws, nails, springs, rope, eye hooks
  • Size constraint will be reinforced and checked before the competition
  • Groups cannot use any materials not found in the SILab
  • Weights can be used and may be shared between groups but must be found in the SILab
  • Each group will have 3 launching attempts with a brief interval between them
  • Supplies are limited and so is build time so be sure to get there early!

Competition Criteria:

  • Precision/consistency of launch distances
  • Build quality
  • Creativity
  • Catapult trigger mechanism

2025 Catapult Competition

a wide shot of the crowd at the catapult competition watching as one team gets ready to launch

2025 Competition Winners

1st Place – Team 5: Isaac Ryan, Kylor Ghai, David Hytha, and Rocco Meausky

2nd Place – Team 4: Henry Dinges, Leah Jones, and Aviva Harman

3rd Place – Team 7: Layton Sahler and Dillon Smith

2025 Competition Images

Launch Day Pictures:

long shot of 3 students looking down field at the golf ball just launched by their catapult 2 students getting their catapult in position to launch the golf ball, 1 standing and 1 crouched in the foreground 2 students exclaiming in excitement as they see how far down field their catapult was able to launch a student watching the swing of his catapult after launch 2 students crouched with their catapult between them, ready to launch a wide shot with 2 students standing in the foreground discussing their catapult, in the background you can see the line of other competitors 3 students pushing on their catapult while their friends watch 3 students bent over their catapult doing final alignments before a launch 2 students holding their catapult up to show the line of judges on the left how it works the 3 judges, 2 members of the winning team, and silab manager standing in a row the 3 judges, 2 students from the 2nd place team, and the silab manager all in a line the 3 judges, 2 students on the 3rd place team, and silab manager all in a line

2 of the winning team standing with their catapult between them wearing first place medals 2 students with their catapult next to them wearing their 2nd place ribbons two students crouched with their catapult between them with 3rd place ribbons on

Build Day Pictures:

in the foreground 1 student prepares to screw part of the catapult together while the background is full of other catapult building activity 2 students crouched over their catapult clamping parts together while their teammate looks on 3 students working on adding in the cross beams for their catapult design 3 members of the team holding up their angled supports to see how they need to adjust them 2 students measuring their boards as they work on building their catapult to match the model they made that is on the table in the foreground 4 members of the team getting ready to pick up their catapult and bring it outside for stress testing a student using the drill press to drill a larger hole into a board for his catapult 2 members of the team work to tape their rock weight in place while the 3rd member works on aligning their next board 2 students using the NC mill to mill out a slot in their board

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