By chucking jack-o-lanterns across the West Lawn Nov. 1, two UCCS faculty members hope to demonstrate the value of interdisciplinary cooperation and hands-on learning.
For the second year, Roger Martinez, assistant professor, Department of History, and Michael Calvisi, assistant professor, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, will bring history to life by recreating an medieval weapon. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 1 on the West Lawn, engineering and history students will deploy a handmade one-fifth scale 13th century Cantigas de Santa Maria Trebuchet, chucking pumpkins to demonstrate engineering and historical principles.
Those who bring projectiles will be entered into a raffle for prizes including a pumpkin spice latte.
Faculty, staff and students are asked to bring Halloween remnants to the event and to participate in the demonstration of a weapon popular in the era before gunpowder. In its heyday, trebuchets were used to hurl projectiles – mostly rocks — at enemies.
“We’re making some enhancements from last year’s model,” Martinez said recently. “Even though it’s old technology, it’s still evolving.”
Martinez uses the trebuchet as part of his History 1020 Medieval World class and in support of a curriculum called Reacting to the Past. For the past month, the oak-hewn trebuchet has been displayed in the atrium of El Pomar Center, complete with its own oversize campus parking pass.
“Dean Switzer was gracious and allowed us to park the trebuchet outside of the library,” Martinez said. “But we all know everything at UCCS needs a parking permit.”
As part of the curriculum, students experience history by re-enacting it. Students in Martinez’s course are studying the Crusades and debating Christian and Islamic perspectives of “Just War.” By building a machine of war and putting it into action, Martinez believes students are experiencing history in a unique, hands-on way that makes an indelible impression.
Building on the efforts of students last year, this year’s students are in the process of constructing a new counterweight box to hurl the light-but-large pumpkin projectiles. The larger box will allow more counterweight and increase the distance a five-pound pumpkin will fly.
That’s where Calvisi and the members of the Historical Engineering Society come in.
Calvisi will lead student engineers in analyzing the trajectory of the projectile and overseeing the production of the new counterweight box. Last year, engineering students conducted a stress analysis of the trebuchet designs to evaluate how oak frames handle the imposed loads. The students learned skills that could be applied to the workforce.
“The engineering process is the same,” Calvisi said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re designing a trebuchet or an airplane. The students were able to apply what they learned in a classroom to an actual engineering device and then related this in a job interview.”
The engineers will also work through safety protocols in conjunction with the history students, again combining skills toward a common goal.
“I’m sure there were plenty of accidents using these weapons. Commoners lives held little value during the Middle Ages,” Martinez said. “That’s one part of history we’re not interested in. We are fortunate beneficiaries of the European Enlightenment and the value of everyone.”
See a video of the trebuchet in action last year
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