Pupils to compete in flour catapulting

LORDSTOWN -- Lordstown physics and history pupils will be in competition the afternoon of May 31 to determine who can catapult sacks of flour more accurately.
Danica Brunker, senior physics teacher, said she and Keith Cullison, seventh- and eighth-grade history teacher, came up with the idea of building three catapults.
"We thought it would be fun," Brunker said Thursday, noting it has educational value in pitting the knowledge of physics against that of historians.
Brunker said the catapults are made mostly of wood and are about 9 feet tall. The seniors did most of the construction themselves, while the younger pupils worked in groups with the help of their parents operating the power tools.
The idea is to heave 1-pound bags of flour at a "castle wall" made of stacked refrigerator boxes beginning at 3 p.m. in a field behind the high school. "We're going to cover the field with flour," Brunker said.