The “Wonderzooka” T-shirt shooter has been making appearances at campus events since developed by Arkansas Tech physics students and faculty. The first campus event at which the “Wonderzooka” attracted attention was the Sept. 22 football game against Valdosta State.

The idea for the “Wonderzooka” belonged to Dr. Daniel Bullock, an assistant professor of physics, after he saw Kelly Davis, from the Alumni Foundation Office, throwing T-shirts into the seats at Tucker Coliseum during a Wonder Boys and Golden Suns basketball game.

“I also noticed that the fans in the upper seats weren’t getting any shirts,” said Bullock. “That’s when I thought that I could build a device  that could shoot the shirts up into the upper levels.” He said the “Wonderzooka” has had a great response from the crowd. Bullock said he was surprised at the device's popularity and by the number of people who wanted to know how the T-shirt shooter worked.

“The ‘Wonderzooka’ works by pressurizing a volume of air to between 10-40 p.s.i. (pounds per square inch), depending on how far we would like to shoot the shirts,” said Bullock.

A modified sprinkler valve is used as a trigger forthe “Wonderzooka,” and when the valve is opened, the air expands quickly to push the T-shirts out of the barrel of the cannon, he explained.

To see the “Wonderzooka” in action, attend home volleyball, football and basketball games, where it will be making more appearances.