Punkin' Chunkin'

There's this American 'thing.' It's how we release all the energy from the excess sugar of Halloween or perhaps it relieves our need for one more 'trick' from the 'trick or treats' before we slip in to thankful mode.
It's Punkin' Chunkin'--create some sort of launching tool, launch pumpkins into the air, cheer heartily as they are smashed to bits.
Our local Nature Center got in on the game this year, inviting high school teams to participate in designing catapults and competing in a Punkin' Chunkin'.
We arrived on the cold and blustery afternoon in time to see two pumpkins beautifully launched in to the air, each launch followed by raucous cheering from the crowd. The Oakland Mills team put forth a grand effort. Sadly, the remaining teams were not quite so successful and two little girls quickly lost interest. There were some impressive looking designs and a great chance for me to point out to Stella the engineering steps she has been learning about and practicing (identify a problem/goal--you want to make pumpkins fly great distances through the air, plan your design, test your design, and make revisions as needed...we especially got to see the make revisions as needed!). Nevertheless, it was quite interesting to see the various designs. I've added one hard to see picture from the event and a link to all kinds of great Punkin' Chunkin' examples on the Science Channel website.






Science Channel Punkin' Chunkin'


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