The crowd stood in a semi-circle gazing up at the blue sky as a 60-foot-tall crane released the first large pumpkin. Within a few seconds, the pumpkin splattered on the ground spewing seeds, slime
“This event was started when Chad Middleton, professor of physics, was the advisor. I think it was started to be a fun way for the club to do more activities on campus,” said Assistant Professor of Physics Brian Hosterman,
Throughout the three hours of loading pumpkins onto the crane and dropping them, SPS also held other physics demonstrations including a coke bottle rocket and bed of nails. The bed of nails demonstration featured a student sandwiched between two boards with nails sticking out of them. A cinder block was placed on the top board and smashed. Due to physics properties, the student was unharmed by any of the nails.
CMU students were not the only onlookers at the event.
“Our main goal is outreach, especially trying to reach out to the elementary and middle schools,” says Physical and Environmental Sciences Senator Josh Lindsey. “It’s a good excuse for us to get kids excited and drop pumpkins off a crane.”
Lindsey has been a member of SPS and involved with the pumpkin drop for three years. He said each year at the Pumpkin Drop, SPS members hope to teach physics principles and how fun physics can be to kids and CMU students.
“For
Hosterman thinks the SPS students involved in this event gain important leadership and organizational skills. SPS plans and runs the event, acquires the necessary materials (including the large, ugly pumpkins that a local pumpkin patch donates) and conduct outreach to local schools.
In the spring, SPS will host a similar event called the egg drop.
