Activities and Fireworks for War Machines

• Make your own artillery and challenge someone to target shooting. Some ideas are:

• Slingshot to shoot marshmallows or water balloons

• Crossbow or Bow & arrow – use a shaft with a pencil eraser for the arrowhead.

• Marshmallow gun

• Catapult for water balloons

• Rubber band gun

• Imagine that you are writing a script for a movie. It is a battle set in Renaissance times. The armies fight using Leonardo’s war machines. How would the battles play out? This may be written out, or drawn in storyboard fashion.

• Learn about the Great Wall of China. Why was it built? Was it effective? What is the wall used for now? Write your discoveries in your notebook.

• Work on your genius project.

• Play some math games.

• Read books (fiction or non-fiction) about weapons, war strategies, and battles.

• Visit the Air Force Museum

• Like a military engineer, see if you can determine the launch angle of a catapult then hit your target on the first shot.

• Find out about wars that are going on in the world today. What are they fighting for? Do you think the fighting is justified? Write about it in your notebook.

• Interview war veterans. Find out why they served in the military, what some of their assignments were, and how they feel about war. Write about it in your notebook.

• Mark Twain said, “The human race has one really effective weapon and that is laughter.” Do you think this is true? Give examples of why or why not. Write your thoughts in your notebook.

• Design a fort or castle that would be safe against attackers. Make a model of it, and then sketch it in your notebook. Make notations on your drawing to describe the safety features.

• Sometimes people get in fights because they don't listen to each other. Practice the art of listening. How long can you go without talking? Perhaps spend an hour exploring in nature – all without talking.

• Play games of strategy such as; chess, checkers, war, etc.