The setting for this time period is in Angers, France, 1248 AD.   According to many historians, the first important technological revolution took place during the medieval time period.  The revolution was caused by a gradual change in how a society was organized. The focus moved away from the administrative organization of the Roman Empire to the more self-supporting organization found in Christian monasteries. This led to more emphasis on the development and use of labor-saving machines over slave labor.

A series of new inventions during this time period made the current technology from the Roman Empire obsolete. In fact, until the industrial revolution, many of the tools and machines that were developed during the medieval era remained practically unchanged. The two activities in this time period focus on two different machines found in the medieval era. In the first activity, students complete the design of a working drawbridge and in the second, they use a catapult to try to hit a target. 
 
      
Drawbridge
In this activity, students will finish the design of a drawbridge so it can be both raised and lowered. Castles in the Middle Ages were almost always designed with motes and drawbridges to help keep the people safe from intruders. Drawbridges were raised whenever a threat was present and lowered when people wanted to enter or leave.

Since these bridges were always in use, they had to be designed so that almost anyone could operate them. How forces are applied to move large objects such as a drawbridge is an important concept in both mechanical and civil engineering.
 
Catapult
In this activity, students finish the design of a catapult and choose the size of a rock so that when thrown, it will hit a target. Catapults were used in the Middle Ages both at festivals for friendly competition and during battles. The difficulty in using a catapult is in trying to determine where the rock will land because there are many factors that can influence the rock’s flight. The flight or trajectory of an object such as a rock, is an important concept in mechanical engineering.