Jackson Middle students eager to squash competition at Pumpkin Drop
Seventh grade students at Jackson Middle School pose with the pumpkins donated by Witten Farm for the 2022 Annual Pumpkin Drop in Morgantown. From the top: Madison Buskirk, Raidyn Walker, Chloe Mulligan, Taylor Haught. Bottom: Kendra Richards, Addison Cameron, Ella Collins and Savannah Villarreal. (Photo Provided)
Jackson Middle School seventh grader Emily Greer stands with her pumpkin drop enclosure. Her team’s design implemented pool noodles and foam to cushion the fall of the pumpkin. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
Jenna Beane, Clara Tracewell, and Emma McColeary, seventh graders at Jackson Middle School, stand with their pumpkin drop enclosure as they prepare for the competition on Friday in Morgantown. Their design uses a pool float and a parachute to protect their pumpkin. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
Seventh grade students at Jackson Middle School pose with the pumpkins donated by Witten Farm for the 2022 Annual Pumpkin Drop in Morgantown. From the top: Madison Buskirk, Raidyn Walker, Chloe Mulligan, Taylor Haught. Bottom: Kendra Richards, Addison Cameron, Ella Collins and Savannah Villarreal. (Photo Provided)
Jackson Middle School seventh grader Emily Greer stands with her pumpkin drop enclosure. Her team’s design implemented pool noodles and foam to cushion the fall of the pumpkin. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
Jenna Beane, Clara Tracewell, and Emma McColeary, seventh graders at Jackson Middle School, stand with their pumpkin drop enclosure as they prepare for the competition on Friday in Morgantown. Their design uses a pool float and a parachute to protect their pumpkin. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
Trending
VIENNA -- Jackson Middle School students are preparing for the annual American Society of Mechanical Engineers Pumpkin Drop competition in Morgantown this Friday.
Rules for the competition include the pumpkin being at least 10 inches in diameter, orange in color, the pumpkin and protective structure is limited to 50 pounds, the structure can not be made of any hard materials such as metal, wood, PVC pipe, or glass, and the pumpkin must land in a designated drop zone after being dropped from an 11 story building.
Pumpkins were donated by Witten Farm and Dave Knost, of Dave Knost Auto Outlet, paid for the student's entry into the competition. Chris Mancuso, from Pickering Associates Inc, visited students to offer engineering advice for their pumpkin drop enclosures.
"I believe in making education as real as possible," seventh grade science teacher Cherish George said. "By inviting professionals in the community to work the students, they're able to see first hand that their challenges are indeed, real-world."
George said students would come up with an initial design and then Mancuso would offer advice on how to change or proceed with their designs. Students would work in groups to come up with the designs and construct the enclosures.
Seventh grade students Cale Varney, Jacob Miller, Erika Deem, and Arabella Kemp said they have been working on their enclosures for about four weeks and are excited to finally test their designs.
"Emily's (Greer) group, I honestly think they might win the whole thing," Varney said. "You look at it (the pumpkin enclosure), and it's pretty solid."
The group said working together to build the enclosures was their favorite part of the process.
"The taping and the building, cause that's when our entire team was working together," Miller said. "We were finally thinking as one, because we were divided most of the time."
Everyone was excited about the competition Friday.
"I'm excited to see everything drop, and see if it works," Kemp said.
"I'm mostly excited about hot chocolate," Deem said.
"It's going to fun to see everyone's design," Varney said. "And to see what they did."
They said they're also all looking forward to seeing the other schools' designs and enclosures to help with their own for next year's competition.
"It'll give us some ideas and it will just be a fun experience to do for school," Varney said.
The competition will take place Friday in Morgantown from 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. in front of the Engineering Science Building Tower on the West Virginia University campus.