Morinville junior high students participate in 66-foot-high Pumpkin Drop Challenge

Students at a Morinville junior high school tested their engineering and aerodynamics knowledge by dropping pumpkins 66 feet in the air.

The Pumpkin Drop Challenge showcased the Grade 8 and 9 students' hard work of building a capsule to hold and protect a pumpkin from a high fall.

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Each team of five students carefully designed the pumpkin capsule over several days with a $20 budget to spend on padding and a parachute in order to prevent the pumpkin from breaking on impact.

Some students chose to line their capsules with sponges, pillows, cotton balls, balloons and pool noodles, hoping they will break the fall and keep their gourd safe.

To heighten the risk, Four Winds Public School partnered with the Morinville Fire Department to bring in a fire truck equipped with a ladder. The 66-foot fall is certainly no cake-walk for the junior high students and their capsules.

"We've done some calculations with gravity and force, and (the students) are very confident that we're going to have some pumpkins that survive this year," said Christina Dafoe, vice-principal of Four Winds Public School. "They'll take all of the capsules and drop them one at a time … to see if any survive."

It's an activity that's both engaging and educational for the Grade 8 and 9 students.

"I just present a challenge to them, and then they take it above and beyond … we learn a lot about physics gravity, as well as different absorption and materials they can use to protect their pumpkin," Dafoe said.

"It's hands on, and you don't realize (the students) are learning all these different components as you're working and building … you're really doing a lot of work while having fun and cooperating in a team as well."