BBD — Shooter

This is one of my projects at TMOT — I’m going to be making projects and working with them to design a curriculum for their Better By Design program — a course to build design thinking skills in children and inspire them to be innovators.

The maker team was ideating based on a theme for projects — superheroes. Most superheroes have a shooting setup, Bow and Arrow, Ceossbow, (Gun?). We set out to build our own within our objective (use readily available resources.)

This is what the final creation looks like

The process stared with an exoskeleton, like last time. The important part about the design and the mechanism was the slit on the exoskeleton — It performs as a viewing point for aiming, a space for increased tension, as well as gives space for a mechanism for the release.

Two Popsicle sticks served as railings, and guiding mechanisms for the “arrow” released to be shot.

The slit was hollow, and to maintain a sturdy structure for the shooter, the exoskeleton had a padding of 4 layers of cardboard within itself.

Next, the arrow itself was made, with a slot in it, so that it would be easy to shoot with rubberbands. The resource used for this was just a wooden dowel.

This is what the shooter looks like. Another thread streches the rubberband, which itself locks into a slot, from where release is quick. An eraser, or anything wished to be shot can be put in this slot.

Here are all the pictures

Collage yo.

I made a spin-off with this. Instead of shooting the eraser, the wooden dowel is what is being shot. The rubberbands are glued to the exterior of the popsicle sticks, and I added a handle on this for better sturdiness.

It looks quite similar to the MP9 SMG -

All it needs is another handle

Here it is, in action ^^

It feels good to hold a gun. Something like a gun. I need to come up with a name for it.

I love making things, it doesn’t matter if the thing is virtual zeros and ones, or physical cardboard and popsicle sticks.