Purdue Polytechnic’s annual Pumpkin Chunking event drew in a big crowd for an afternoon filled with friendly competition, pumpkin painting, and some spectacular displays of engineering prowess replete with exploding gourds. The event brought together teams of students and adults, showcasing creativity through the design of trebuchets to launch pumpkins across impressive distances.
“We had great weather, a great crowd, and lots of fun,” said Joseph Dues, Purdue Polytechnic in New Albany'sdirector.
The event featured eight trebuchet teams:
- Three high school teams competed to hit a 75-yard target.
- Five college and adult teams launched pumpkins toward a 100-yard target.
Throughout the evening, 100 pumpkins were launched from the trebuchets. A full 50 of those pumpkins came from the “Mind Over Splatter” display. Younger attendees also joined in the fun, painting 200 pumpkins—so many that the event ran out in under an hour.
The celebration included six food trucks and showcased an EV Grand Prix go-kart. Several organizations participated, including the Kentucky Science Center, Indiana National Guard, C&I Engineering, and Go Southern Indiana Tourism. Duke Energy, a particularly supportive partner of Purdue Polytechnic in New Albany, also had a presence on the day.
“Special thanks to Trina Ruby for managing vendors, booths, and purchasing, Christy Snip for promoting at schools and other events as well as wrangling a bunch of student and alumni volunteers, Paul Hagmann for his setup and cleanup efforts, Damon Sisk for running the Mind over Splatter display, and Miah Moore for social media content,” Dues added.
The City of New Albany provided a skid steer and street sweeper to handle the post-event cleanup. Additionally, the New Albany Fire, EMS, and Police Departments ensured that the event ran safely.
The annual Pumpkin Chunking event is both a great deal of fun, and an appealing opportunity for students in the area to learn about Purdue Polytechnic in New Albany. “We had many prospective students and groups from local schools tour our classrooms and labs while they were here,” Dues said. “There were also a lot of alumni, and it was great to see so many friends at the event!”
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