Four teams of Middle School students and one of fifth graders participated Monday in a Pumpkin Chuckin’ contest on the blacktop. Using trebuchets and catapults, they attempted to hit a target placed on the school wall. Although none of the devices was able to hurl a pumpkin very far, the contest was a success in that it demonstrated the use of mathematics to achieve an objective.
		The objective was to design & build a launching device that could “chuck” a pumpkin into a target several feet away. Mathematical skills involved included measurement, angles, ratios, and proportions, tension, leverage, and a hint of ballistics. Students obtained basic information on trebuchets and catapults from the internet and adapted that for their individual designs. – THANKS MR. STEMM -