I wish they had medieval siege weapon building when I was in school

I photographed the annual trebuchet competition at Mount Vernon High School yesterday. Saying the students were enthusiastic is an understatement. On several occasions I heard students call for a run to the nearby hardware store for items to fix and/or improve their hurling machines. 

 Teams of students, including the first all-female team, from Scott White's Industrial Technology Design class designed and built the trebuchets over the course of the semester to see how far and how accurately they could throw a softball. The class applies advanced mathematics, physics, woodworking skills, and computer design to build replicas of the medieval weapons. Team Ritz won the overall competition with 436 points by being the most accurate. They hit the target seven times. The distance title went to the Guild of the Alacrious Architects (GOAA) with a throw of 344 feet. White said that a Mount Vernon police officer clocked the flying softballs at 50-60 mph.

-Jim