Wright State University
8th Annual Trebuchet Competition

What People Are Saying...

Returning year after year, high school teachers are singing high praises about Wright State's Trebuchet Competition. Last year, a number of teachers and students expressed appreciation for the Competition through their letters to WSU. Excerpts from a few of the letters are shown below:

"...To date, I have had about 120 students compete in this competition. They return each year enthused about the fun they had at the competition. Each year, this competition gets better and better!

The technical skills in the design, construction, and testing phases of the class project help students learn many useful skills for future employment. We actually use the trebuchet project over the entire school year. We build two small scale models in the fall and a full size competition model to use in the actual competition.

This year's competition, as in the past, was another example of a well organized, well managed competition. Dr. Slater and his staff of volunteers are to be commended for their excellence in preparation and operation. We look forward to many future competitions at Wright State."

- Dennis Hance
PreEngineering Technology Instructor at Upper Valley JVS

"As we have prepared for our fourth year of participation this school year, I have begun to realize just how much the contest and the preparation for it have become a part of my curriculum... The students associate their experiences with projectile motion with the flight of the squash ball thrown by their trebuchet, their experiences with rotational motion with the functions of the trebuchet itself, and their experiences with simple machines and construction techniques/statics with the trebuchet design..."

- Greg Hartzler
Physics Instructor at Wapakoneta High School

"For the past four years, my Ind Tech II students have participated in the annual Wright State (trebuchet) contest. I have found it to be an exciting motivator as my students look forward to it every year. The planning, design, and construction that goes into these machines has proven to be an excellent way for me to combine math, machine history, materials and processes, and physics into one challenging project. As my students have won 1st place two of the four times the contest has been held, it has generated a good deal of school pride for Kenton Ridge H.S...."

- John W. Mills III
Industrial Technology Instructor, Kenton Ridge High School

"All of the testing and building we did the year before helped us do well in the competition. Thanks for this excellent learning opportunity."

Student

"Your competition is a good source of experience for anyone who is interested in engineering, and it is a lot of fun."

Student

"Thank you for the chance to do this project. It has taught us team work and designing your work before you build it. I had a lot of fun and would like to do it again."

Student

"In designing my trebuchet I learned to be more careful when following rules. I learned more about teamwork, strategy, and patience."

Student

"It was interesting to see how each school went about designing their trebuchets. The event was well organized and the judges were well trained. It's nice to be able to build a cool project and get a grade on it. I also enjoyed learning more about engineering at Wright State University."

Student

...for those who like to hurl