35th annual WVU Pumpkin Drop brings gourds and glory to campus

The 35th annual WVU Pumpkin Drop, held Friday (Oct. 25) on the Evansdale area of campus and organized by the WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, brought together teams of K-12 students who tested their engineering skills by building a container to help a pumpkin survive the 11-story drop from the roof of the Engineering Sciences Building intact. (WVU Photo/Greg Thompson)

Over 1,000 K-12 students vied for victory at the 35th annual Pumpkin Drop hosted by the  West Virginia University  Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.

Story by Kaley LaQuea, Communications Specialist
Photos by Jennifer Shephard, Greg Thompson and Megan Rinker

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Sponsored by th Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering and the  WVU chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, this year’s competition, held Friday (Oct. 25), included 242 teams from 58 schools across West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Out of 242 pumpkins dropped from the roof of the Engineering Sciences Building, just 30 survived the 11-story descent.

Teams were tasked with creating an enclosure for a pumpkin with a diameter of at least 10 inches and a maximum weight of 50 pounds to protect it during the freefall.

Team 3 from Connellsville High School earned first place by getting their intact pumpkin one foot from the target. Second place went to Team 102 from Taylor County Middle School with a target distance of one foot, nine inches. For the first time in Pumpkin Drop history, two teams tied for third place: Team 15 from Tyler Consolidated Middle School and Team 154 from Covenant Christian School. Both landed their pumpkins two feet, two inches from the target.

“I really love seeing our students interacting with some of these young minds to show them how cool engineering can be,” said Jason Gross, MMAE professor and department chair.

Science teacher Amelia Mullens brought her STEM team from Barrackville Elementary Middle School in Marion County. This year was Mullens’ first time returning with the team since the pandemic, and she said it was nice to see the hard work come full circle. One of her former students, now a pre-veterinary sciences major at WVU, came to watch his sister, who is currently in Mullens’ class, compete.

“College campuses are good for them to visit and see ‘that could be me.’ Having time to not be in class but be around a lot of science is good for them,” Mullens said. She provided materials and directions for Pumpkin Drop prep, but encouraged independent learning and experimentation to get students to tap into their creativity and critical thinking.

“They’ve learned a lot from watching each other and they’ve already started talking about what they’re going to try next year,” Mullens said. “They’re already applying those engineering and problem solving processes.”

This year’s collaboration with the College of Creative Arts and Media and Lane Innovation Hub added the “A” in STEAM — science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.

Junior theater design and technology major Daney Brookover designed the Pumpkin Drop target and art education major Peyton Raffel painted it. Brookover also designed the set for the current production of “Into the Woods,” which is being performed through Monday (Oct. 28) at the Metropolitan Theater. Fundraising t-shirts were created by art and design major Paige Burger and graphic design major Lizzy Sikora. This year’s trophies were designed, engraved and created by the Lane Innovation Hub.

Proceeds from the Pumpkin Drop will benefit the Ronald McDonald House in Morgantown.

Watch this year’s Pumpkin Drop.

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