The Building of a Trebuchet!

The physics class has spent the last month constructing a type of medieval siege engine known as a trebuchet. Trebuchets were used in the middle ages to lay siege to castle walls and knock them down. The purpose of this project was to create a “vehicle” to talk about projectile motion and the dynamics of forces. The finished trebuchet turned out to be 12 feet wide by 12 feet long by 20 feet high. The “throwing arm” is 16 feet long with the capability of holding over 300 pounds of counterweight. What types of projectiles is our trebuchet capable of launching? We can launch almost anything under 50 lbs but the projectile of choice is the pumpkin!

On Sunday, November 4^th, the “maiden” launch was conducted. Once we had the sling arranged properly our first pumpkin was hurled high through the air, landing in the middle of the pond over 150 feet away. On Wednesday, November 8^th, the entire school came out in the late afternoon to witness the first public launching. The trebuchet did not let us down. We fired two pumpkins, each sailing far into the pond and shattering upon impact. The six students who built the trebuchet participated in every phase of the construction process, drilling every hole, fitting every board, tightening every bolt, and solving numerous problems along the way. We’ve decided to make tossing pumpkins on or near Halloween an annual tradition!

The First Annual International\

Genetics Conference

This past December our two first-semester biology classes held an “international” genetics conference to set global standards with regard to research and application. Each student created their own “persona,” complete with résumé, lab coat, tie, and funny glasses. Each student researched an aspect of genetic research, often a point of view opposing another student. Areas researched included stem cell research, gene therapy, genetically modified plants and/or animals, cloning, and “designer babies.” During the three-day conference each scientist took turns presenting their research and their often-strong opinions within their area of interest. The other scientists were free to ask questions and even debate the points raised. This happened quite frequently, as you can imagine.

The conference was videotaped and then reviewed by a “panel” of experts. The panel took all of the information and all of the arguments to construct seven new international standards as the overall outcome of the conference. These seven standards were then shared with the entire school during a meeting in the lodge. A few of the new standards were “booed” but most were enthusiastically cheered!

Three-Dimensional Cells

During this past school year our biology classes created three-dimensional models with various bits of confectionary delectables.

Each cell had to have all of its parts clearly labeled and defined. Each student had to be able to explain his or her cell and how an animal or a plant cell works. A group of faculty members came on the final day to judge each entry and each pair was presented with an award of plant and animal cells. The students worked together in pairs and began their projects by making a list of materials that they would need to create their models. It’s believed to be no coincidence that many of the students chose materials that were highly edible! Each type of “material” was to represent a specific part of the cell.

The themes for this project were wide and varied. One pair of students created their cell by baking a pizza. Another pair created a castle out of graham crackers and chocolate frosting. The various characters in the castle represented the cell parts. Another group built a replica of East Berlin out of wood and had the town hall represent the nucleus. A factory represented the mitochondria, and so forth. We also had a cell made out of a pumpkin; a cell baked into a cookie, and any number of cells constructed