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Energy transfer Mechanical systems

Mortar Launcher

SKU E2K-JIN-DP-TM-0287

A palm-sized mortar launcher on a tripod stand, powered by nothing but rubber bands. Wind the band, load a wooden shell, press the firing plate and it goes. Wind it one more turn and it goes further, which is the whole physics lesson in a single action. It arrives as plain plywood, so the paint job is yours to do.

Grades 3–5 Beginner 45–60 min build

/kit

Presses together by hand. No screws, no glue, no tools

Buy it now Request a school quote

Grades 3–5 · fits a single class period
Broken or missing part? We'll post a replacement

What they'll learn

Four ideas, one shot

All of them come down to what the rubber band does when you let it go.

Energy transfer

A wound band stores energy, then gives it all back at once.

Input/output

More tension in the band, faster the shell leaves the muzzle.

Repeatable observations

Fire each shell from the same spot and mark where it lands.

Controlled variables

Wrap the band twice, then three times, and compare.

Specifications

One launcher, down to the last board

Finished size, materials and part counts for the build.

Finished size 95 × 50 × 70 mm

Weight 90 g

Materials Wood

Pieces 2 plywood sheets, boards No.1 to No.17 · 10 build steps

Country of origin China

Safety & compliance

CHOKING HAZARD: Small Parts. Not for children under 3 years.

Certified with CE, CPC and EN71. Full printed warnings are supplied in the manual.

The Mortar Launcher kit as supplied: two laser-cut plywood sheets, three rubber bands and a color stick

What's in the box

Every part presses out of two sheets

2 laser-cut plywood sheets, boards numbered No.1 to No.17
3× wooden shells, built by you from the No.2, No.3 and No.4 boards
3× yellow rubber bands, the launcher's power source
1× color stick for threading the bands through the frame
1× tripod stand, press-fit from the same sheets
1× illustrated English manual, 10 steps

Nothing to buy separately. Every board presses together by hand, so there are no tools, screws or glue to track down. Paint and brushes are not included if you want to decorate it. The shells are solid wood, so fire it in a safe direction and keep the muzzle away from people.

How this build works

See mechanics in motion

Build the model, set it loose, and understand the science by watching it work.

Build

Two sheets of numbered plywood boards, pressed together by hand. Ten steps, no screws, no glue and no tools at all.

Play

Load a shell, press the firing plate and watch it go. Point it at a wall, a target or a stack of cups, and never at a person.

Experiment

Wind the rubber band twice, then wind it three times. More wraps means more tension, which means a faster shell. Measure both and compare.

Where to start

Master the basics first

Work your way up. Each completed kit unlocks the know-how for your next challenge.

Start here

Mortar Launcher

Grades 3–5

10 steps

Then this

Whack-a-Mole

Grades 3–5

10 steps

Finish here

Catapult

Grades 3–5

14 steps

Curriculum alignment

Educator & Procurement Resources

Essential information for classroom integration and school purchasing.

Every kit starts as a box of parts and turns into something kids can actually use. Making that happen means following directions and fixing mistakes along the way. They're tackling real engineering challenges, but to them, it just feels like play.

Product safety

Children's Product Certificate (CPC)

Certified to US children's product safety requirements

Set up a target such as a stack of paper cups, and never aim at a person. Wrap the rubber band twice, fire each shell from the same spot and mark where it lands. Then wrap the band three times, predict what will change, and fire again. What it shows: more wraps stretch the band tighter, and the energy stored in the stretched band becomes the shell's movement when it is released.

Whether you're exploring circuits in a science lab, tackling gears in a makerspace, or learning at home on the living room table, these kits fit right in. One quick tip if you're building a whole class set: build one kit yourself first, so you know where students are likely to need a hand.

PC University Distributors, Inc. is the exclusive distribution partner for E2K Robotics STEM kits to schools and educational institutions. From a single classroom to a district-wide rollout, message the team on WhatsApp at 516-596-1500 or email sales@pcuniversity.com, and they will send educational pricing and the full product list.

What educators & parents say

Reviews

Nothing here yet — and we'd rather say so

Verified reviews will appear on this page as soon as the first Mortar Launchers are built at home and in classrooms. We don't carry ratings over from other kits in the range, and we don't publish anything that isn't from a verified buyer.

If you've built this one with your class, we'd like to hear how it went — what worked, what didn't, and what you'd change.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

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Questions, answered

Before you build

It fires hard wooden shells that you build yourself from three of the plywood boards. They are not foam and they are not soft, so treat this as what it is: a small elastic launcher that throws a solid object. The manual is direct about it and so are we. Never point the muzzle at a person. Fire it at a wall, a target board or a stack of cups, keep bystanders behind the launcher, and have an adult supervising. Used that way it is a genuinely good physics demonstration.

No. It arrives as plain natural plywood, and no paint or brushes are included. The teal and neon finish in the first photograph was painted by hand after the build, which the manual actively encourages. If you want it to look like that you will need your own paint. The second photograph shows exactly how the kit looks when you finish assembling it.

Smaller than most people expect: 95 × 70 × 50 mm, which is about the size of your palm. It is a desk-top demonstration piece, not a large model. That is worth knowing before you order, because photographs of it on a plain background make it look considerably bigger than it is.

We don't publish a distance, because nobody has measured it properly and we would rather say so than print a number we can't stand behind. What we can tell you is that the range changes with how many times you wind the rubber band, which is exactly the point. Measuring it yourself is the experiment.

Nothing at all to build it. This is the only kit we make that needs nothing extra whatsoever: the whole thing presses together by hand, with no screws, no glue and no screwdriver. If you want to decorate it afterwards you will need your own paint and a brush.

PC University Distributors, Inc. is the exclusive distribution partner for E2K Robotics STEM kits to schools and educational institutions. Message the team on WhatsApp at 516-596-1500 or email sales@pcuniversity.com for educational pricing, classroom quantities and the full product list.

10-step manual

In English, with the physics and the history explained

Genuinely no tools

Press-fit throughout. No screwdriver, no screws, no glue

Schools welcome

Educational pricing through PC University

Before you start

It fires hard wooden shells. Never aim at a person