Photos

Elkins kids watch a big pumpkin go splat

Inter-Mountain photo
Inter-Mountain photo

ELKINS, W.Va. — Pumpkins were falling from the sky Tuesday as students from Highland Adventist School securely wrapped up pumpkins that were dropped from the Elkins Volunteer Fire Department aerial truck.

“Every fall we take the students and do a pumpkin drop,” Stacy Blanzy, an instructor at HAS, said. “They have to package pumpkins in such a way that they will not break when they are dropped. We used to go up to the Bickle’s Knob Fire Tower, but for the last four years, we have gathered at the Elkins Volunteer Fire Department.”

Blanzy said the students enjoy the activity and said it is a fun science experiment where they learn about many science theories including gravity. They learn what works and what doesn’t work.

“We have made it fun,” she said. “This year we are giving out prizes.”

Pumpkins were encapsulated in cardboard boxes and one was in a huge big tub. A few of the boxes had parachutes. Inside the boxes, the pumpkins were surrounded with bubble wrap, insulation, carpet padding and other items to help their pumpkins arrive safely on the ground.

“There are regulations,” Blanzy said. “The pumpkins have to be 10 inches in diameter.”

Blanzy said at the end of the pumpkin drop, officials planned to have a splat pumpkin, just for the fun of it. The splat pumpkin weighed 160 pounds and was donated by Jerry’s Pumpkin Patch in Weston.

“We have a great group of kids and they have a lot of fun,” Blanzy said. “It’s fun to get out and do this kind of stuff.”

A total of 14 pumpkins were packed and dropped from the truck and three of those pumpkins survived the fall unbroken. Blanzy said the rule is whichever pumpkin lands closest to the center and does not break or have any cracks is the winner.

The first-place winners were the Abel team, including Dominick, Madison and Abby Abel; second place went to Jillian Barnett, Sophia Putnam and Madilyn Haney; the third-place winner was Joel Plishka; and the Subway card winner was Kyan George.

See more from The Inter-Mountain. 

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

And get our latest content in your inbox

Invalid email address