Pumpkins And Catapults: N.J. Students Compete In High-Flying Event
MORRIS COUNTY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – With Halloween nearly here, pumpkins are everywhere.
But on Friday in New Jersey, the pumpkins were turned into projectiles and flying through the air.
Welcome to a pumpkin-slinging contest.
More than 100 high school students from northern New Jersey designed a catapult, each with the goal of launching a pumpkin the farthest into Lake Picatinny.
The team from Sussex County Technical School competed before and were pretty confident this year.
"You think you might win this year?" CBS2's Cindy Hsu asked during the event.
"Yes… that would be insane," Tim Chapman said.
The competition was held at Picatinny Arsenal, a military facility in Morris County known for designing cannon artillery.
It's part of a STEM educational outreach program where scientists and engineers from the Arsenal visit local schools to promote science and engineering. They're skills these students have been using to build their catapults.
"They're taking everything they learn in class putting it together and making stuff that belongs on the 'Game of Thrones,'" Shahran Dabiri of Picatinny STEM said.
The team from Essex County Payne Technical High School has been working on their catapult for months and came up with pages of designs.
Teammates Isaiah Innis and Eva Santos say they've learned a lot more than technical skills.
"Teamwork as well because there was no way one person was going to be able to put all that together," Santos explained.
There are two prizes for all this pumpkin slinging. A trophy went to the school that launches a pumpkin the farthest and a skull made by a 3D printer went to the students who created the safest contraption.
Sussex County Technical School won the top prize this year, launching their pumpkin nearly 450 feet.
