Real Life Angry Birds

How it works

Kids work in 2 teams, one team uses blocks to build a tower that houses the pigs and the other team uses the catapult to shoot birds and knock down the tower. They can experiment with different sizes and weights of birds to see how it affects the projectile motion and its effectiveness is knocking down the tower. Similarly, the shapes and material of the building blocks can be varied to see how it affects the stability of the tower.

What kids learn

Building the tower teaches kids about structural stability and launching birds teaches them about projectile motion.

Age group

This toy is designed for kids aged 3 and up as the blocks may pose as a choking hazard for younger children.

Manufacturing

The blocks should be easy and cheap to manufacture from either wood or plastic. The birds and pigs can be small plush animals weighted with plastic pellets in addition to the filling. The most complicated piece of the toy is the catapult, which should have a solid heavy base and stand made from either wood or plastic. The flexible plastic must be sufficiently easy to bend and sturdy enough to return to its original position. This may not be very durable and an alternative would be a metal strip encased in silicone.