Think like an engineer: design a catapult, trebuchet or spring launcher, prototype it, fire it, measure every shot, and iterate until it hits the target you set.

You decide what a perfect launch means, which is the engineer's first job: the furthest shot, the most accurate one, or the best launcher built from scrap. Week one is design: sketches, cardboard prototypes, and the physics of force, torque, tension and energy taught as you build. By week two you are fabricating in wood, 3D-printing your own parts and wiring a light-gate timer that clocks every launch. Every shot is measured, and the data, not opinion, decides the next iteration. By week three you calculate where each shot will land, then test how close the model got, and write up the design log like a working engineer.

Taught by Prasanth Sistla, Educator · Maker · 15 years designing hands-on learning. Meet all the mentors

The course, in a minute