TOS REVIEW: Pitsco {Medieval Machines Pack}

We are not much of a hands-on activity kind of family. Not that we don’t want to be…it just hasn’t worked out that way. Through the TOS Homeschool Crew we’ve been privileged to review the Medieval Machines Pack from Pitsco Education. I don’t know if I can adequately describe the excitement that my kids both exhibited when we found out that we were chosen to review this. My dd, 15, jumped up and down and squealed. Ds, 12, did the fist punch (Yes!).

The pack comes with a Trebuchet Kit, a Catapult Kit, Siege Machines book, and counterweights for the Trebuchet. Also included with the shipment was a box of Klean Clay used to make projectiles for the kits. You can purchase these from Pitsco. The kit we received retails for $21.95. There are other kits available at their website, some also include teacher/curriculum guides.

We needed other items such as glue, exacto knife (hobby knife), ruler, and scissors. We used Elmer’s Glue All, which is supposedly stronger than school glue (and I would agree).  It is important to note that these are not intended as toys; they are educational products that require adult supervision.

The kids put these together almost entirely on their own (with my supervision and support, of course). We made sure we read all the instructions before beginning. And even then, with the Trebuchet we started with step 2 instead of step 1. Fortunately, this wasn’t something that caused problems. I really really liked how the kids worked together so well.

The Catapult was almost forgotten with the fun of the Trebuchet but we did finally get it put together. Perhaps because it is moist here in OH, the bottom of the Trebuchet warped. It used to be nice and straight.

The Trebuchet was very easy to follow the instructions and the Catapult was also easy to follow. We still made a few mistakes Our Catapult is a little crooked but it works great! The kids love how it is so small; it can be carried around and used as a little launcher.

Catapult VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

As mentioned we also received the book Siege Machines but it was difficult to get into it. It will be a book we will use more with our studies of medieval times. So far it has been primarily used to learn more about the history of these weapons. With the Trebuchet, the kids did a test to see how many weights and the best size clay ball would be.

These products incorporate science and math as well as hands-on experiments.

They like to play with it now that they have been built. Our cat likes them, too

Here is a video of one trebuchet launch:

Here is a video of a couple catapult launches (with a fetch cat ):

Bottomline:
These are great. Really great. I want more products like these and the cost is reasonable. The products from Pitsco are good quality. The directions are well done; easy to follow.

  

I would recommend this to anyone (homeschool or not!) who enjoy learning about history with a hands-on approach, who enjoy assembling models, and/or who enjoy employing math and science into projects.

See what others had to say about these products from Pitsco Education at the TOS Homeschool Crew blog.

***Disclaimer: I received the above items free from Pitsco Education via TOS Homeschool Crew in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are those of mine and my family. See Disclosure/Policies.***