MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The WVU Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources will host the 32nd Pumpkin Drop Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Dr. Scott Wagner says the competition forces students to be creative and use engineering skills.
“The competition is protect the pumpkin and land closest to a target on the ground,” Wagner said.
The K-12 students choose between physically protecting the pumpkin or using a parachute to slow the fall and compensate for accuracy. The pumpkins are dropped from the top of the 11-story Engineering Sciences Building on WVU’s Evansdale campus.
“This is a competition that challenges students to engineer a device that would protect a pumpkin of a certain size, about eight inches in diameter, during a fall from the 11-story engineering building,” Wagner said.
Wagner added students learn about the impact of gravity, aerodynamics and what materials protect the best.
The students are from surrounding states and an entry fee that goes to the Ronald McDonald House in Morgantown. The three pumpkins closest to the target win cash prizes.
The event is open the public.