Thirty students from Penn-Trafford High School participated in West Virginia University's annual Pumpkin Drop Contest on Friday, October 28th. They joined 300 teams of other elementary, middle, and high school students from Pennsylvania and West Virginia school districts.
The objective of the contest was to construct devices to protect pumpkins as they were dropped from the roof of the Engineering Sciences Building. Teams used various materials including cardboard, packing pillows, memory foam, tennis balls, storage containers, tarps, and garbage bags to encase and protect their pumpkins.
Penn-Trafford teacher Mrs. Wukich commented, “While none of Penn-Trafford's devices saved their pumpkins, students engaged in an activity that promoted thinking and problem-solving and they are already discussing how to improve their designs for next year!"
Sophomores Megan Kamzalow, Landon Doonan, Amelia Haslam, and Dannica Wukich gather around their encapsulated pumpkin
Freshmen Evan Sadler, Faiz Khatri, Logan Matrisch, and Jacob Lang
Juniors Emma Edwards and Lauren Yankes
Seniors Rylyn Ickes and Mia Muro with Juniors Ella Dindak, Eilish Connolly, and Sophia Green
The pumpkins were dropped from the top of an 11-story building