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Sussex Tech repeats win at Picatinny Arsenal Pumpkin Sling competition, aimed at mixing fun, teamwork and developing student STEM skills

By Ed Lopez, Picatinny Arsenal Public AffairsOctober 25, 2024

Picatinny Pumpkin Sling mixes fun, building student STEM skills
Sussex County Technical School won the top prize this year in the annual Pumpkin Sling competition at Picatinny Arsenal designed to encourage teamwork and development of STEM skills among area high school students. Above, Col. Vinson Morris, Project Manager of Close Combat Systems, presents a commander’s star note to the winning team on behalf of Maj. Gen. John T. Reim, Picatinny Arsenal Commanding General, and Joint Program Executive Officer Armaments and Ammunition. (Photo Credit: Ed Lopez ) VIEW ORIGINAL

PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. -- Sussex County Technical School once again captured the top prize during the annual Pumpkin Sling competition at Picatinny Arsenal at which eight area schools sought to hurl a pumpkin the farthest into Lake Picatinny.

Last year, the Sussex team swept the competition with an astounding toss of 238 meters, and although this year’s toss of 208 wasn’t as far, it was enough to surpass all competition to capture the top prize. The team’s second-farthest toss was 169 meters.

Warren Hills High School had a pumpkin sling at 124 meters, while Easton Area High School had a toss of 110 meters. Other schools competing were West Orange High School, New Providence High School, Morris Catholic High School, Madison High School, and Roosevelt Middle School.

The pumpkin slinging contest allows participants to use science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in a fun and competitive way. By building catapults to sling pumpkins, participants use physics and mathematics skills such as linear kinematics, projectile motion, trigonometry and engineering physics.

Lt. Col. Craig Bonham II, Picatinny Arsenal Garrison Commander, welcomed the students, noting that their challenge since early summer was to design a human-powered trebuchet or catapult that can propel a two- to five-pound pumpkin through the air into Lake Picatinny.

“The most exciting part of engineering is to see what happens, whether your ideas or efforts meet reality. Great efforts can be undone by the smallest off details, but great efforts are most often met with soaring success. Whatever happens, please take pride in what you have accomplished. Learn from what you worked on, whether it works out how you expected it to work or not.”

Engineers from Picatinny Arsenal’s largest organization, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center, used laser range finders, digital angle measuring tools and trigonometry to calculate the distance from the launching positions to the point where the splash made by the pumpkins was visible.

Chris Land, an engineering instructor at Sussex Tech, attributed the school’s competition success to close collaboration between the engineering, welding and carpentry shops at the school.

“We divvy up the work. Nobody’s getting overloaded. Also, we force the kids to work together as a team. You always make something better as a team.”

Col. Vinson Morris, Project Manager of Close Combat Systems, presented a commander’s star note to the winning team on behalf of Maj. Gen. John T. Reim, Picatinny Arsenal Commanding General, and Joint Program Executive Officer Armaments and Ammunition.

“It gives me a lot of hope for the future when I see you out here doing such good work,” Morris told the students.

The pumpkin slinging competition is one of many activities that are part of Picatinny’s STEM Educational Outreach Program. Nearly 200 Picatinny scientists and engineers have volunteered to support STEM education. That support includes over 1,000 classroom visits, staffing over 100 educational field trips to Picatinny Arsenal’s working laboratories, assisting nearly 800 teachers and inspiring 50,000 students in over 400 schools.

The STEM program supports public and private schools, colleges and universities with no-cost assistance, professional development training, new instructional equipment, and monetary and advisory support to student robotics teams.

They also offer engineer mentors, sponsorship of student competitions, and opportunities to visit scientists and engineers in their laboratories, where students get a first-hand look at how professionals rise to meet STEM challenges.

This STEM education outreach is custom tailored to meet the specific needs of individual schools. It has already positively impacted tens of thousands of students and hundreds of teachers in New Jersey with knowledge of cutting-edge technologies and the inevitable changes they will bring to education, employment and daily life in the 21st Century.