Annual Pumpkin Toss Combines Fall, Physics and Fun

Autumn is in the air. Er, no wait. … That’s a flying pumpkin.

Engineering students from across Utah will compete Saturday, Oct. 29, to see who can hurl their ripening jack-o’-lanterns the farthest.

This year’s sixth annual North Logan Pumpkin Toss is scheduled to take place Oct. 29 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Elk Ridge Park in North Logan. The event is organized by the Utah State University student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, or ASME.

Each year, teams construct a medieval device called a trebuchet (treb-you-shay) that launches pumpkins in a tournament of distance, accuracy and mechanical design. The trebuchet was used as a weapon of war hundreds of years ago, and today the device is a great example of how the principles of engineering and physics can be used to build a powerful machine.

“This is our 6th annual Pumpkin Toss, and people from all over the state have been asking about the event,” said USU student and event organizer Mahala Sakaeda. “Last year we had over 1000 spectators and this year, we are hoping to double that.”

Awards will be given to teams whose pumpkins travel the farthest and most accurately and to groups with the best or most innovative trebuchet designs. The event is open to college and high school science and physics students and teams from the general public.

Sakaeda said the event is a good way to showcase what mechanical engineering is all about.

“The Pumpkin Toss is a fun and exciting community event that showcases the creativity people put into building these simple machines,” she said. “This year we have many teams made up from USU students, as well as a few local companies and a high school team.”

Related links:

USU Mechanical Engineering Department

USU College of Engineering

Media Contact: Mahala Sakaeda – Utah State University, College of Engineering | msakaeda@aggiemail.usu.edu | cell: 801-425-2335 | engineering.usu.edu | @engineeringUSU