Blennerhassett students put engineering skills to test with pumpkin drop
From left, Mineral Wells VFD Captain Ben Fouse reaches for Blennerhassett Middle School seventh grade students Easton Anderson and Landon Coppersmith's Pumpkin Drop project. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Blennerhassett Middle School students watch as a Pumpkin Drop project is launched to the ground Friday morning. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
From left, Blennerhassett Middle School sixth grade students Maddie Varner and Freya Winters check to see if their pumpkin survived its fall during the Pumpkin Drop Challenge Friday morning. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Blennerhassett Middle School sixth grade students Colton Emrick, Henry Greathouse and Collin Shanks celebrate their pumpkin being the only pumpkin to survive the drop challenge Friday morning. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
From left, Mineral Wells VFD Captain Ben Fouse reaches for Blennerhassett Middle School seventh grade students Easton Anderson and Landon Coppersmith's Pumpkin Drop project. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Blennerhassett Middle School students watch as a Pumpkin Drop project is launched to the ground Friday morning. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
From left, Blennerhassett Middle School sixth grade students Maddie Varner and Freya Winters check to see if their pumpkin survived its fall during the Pumpkin Drop Challenge Friday morning. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Blennerhassett Middle School sixth grade students Colton Emrick, Henry Greathouse and Collin Shanks celebrate their pumpkin being the only pumpkin to survive the drop challenge Friday morning. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
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PARKERSBURG - Blennerhassett Middle School students put their engineering skills to the test Friday, using structures built from everyday materials to protect pumpkins dropped from a fire truck.
The Great Pumpkin Drop Challenge brought together 31 gifted students in sixth through eighth grades for a project combining engineering, research and teamwork, according to a release from Heather Lawson, the school's gifted teacher for those grades.
"The real goal has never been simply to save a pumpkin," Lawson said in the release. "It has been to teach students to think like engineers, embrace challenges, collaborate with others and recognize that failure can be one of the greatest teachers."
Lawson said students spent two weeks designing and building protective structures, exploring how different materials could absorb the impact of a fall. Friday's drop gave them an opportunity to see how their classroom ideas performed.
Before construction began, students researched egg drop experiments, space shuttle landing systems and cellphone protection challenges.
"They examined how engineers use materials, structure and design to absorb impact and protect valuable objects," Lawson said.
Students applied those concepts using pool noodles, bubble wrap, cardboard, wooden rods, packing peanuts, plastic containers and pages from old math workbooks.
Each grade level faced increasingly challenging design expectations such as container limitations, requiring students to consider potential problems and develop solutions.
"Throughout the process, students collaborated with their partners, revised their designs and learned that successful engineering often involves a little trial and error," Lawson said.
For sixth grader Freya Winters and her partner, Maddie, the approach centered on cushioning their pumpkin and slowing its descent.
"So our group, we worked on impact absorption," Winters said in an interview.
The partners placed pool noodles around their pumpkin for extra cushioning before wrapping it in pillows Maddie brought. They secured the box with duct tape and attached a parachute to slow the fall.
Winters said the project connected to classroom lessons about engineering and aerodynamics.
"In class we've just been working on learning about the engineering and aerodynamics and how that stuff works," she said.
Her group had not tested its design before Friday's event. Winters said she hoped the pumpkin would survive, although she was uncertain whether the knots she tied would keep the parachute together.
"I did my best, so I hope it stays," she said.
Bill Bailey Insurance sponsored the challenge and helped coordinate the fire truck and other aspects of the project, Lawson said in the release.
"Their willingness to invest time, resources and energy into our students' learning has helped turn a classroom engineering challenge into an unforgettable, hands-on educational experience," Lawson said.
All 31 students gathered Friday to test their creations and discover whether their protective structures could withstand the impact.