BAY VILLAGE, Ohio — Children and teachers at Bay Middle School gathered for their annual pumpkin tossing event on Thursday afternoon.
3News streamed the event that started at noon, which can be watched below as well as on our YouTube page.
The "Punkin Chunkin" STEM activity at Bay Middle School is being held for the fourth year.
The autumn-themed education event ranged "from catapults to slingshots to human pumpkin tossing," according to school officials.
As a way to get sixth graders excited about science, they will determine which method chucks a gourd the farthest. Sixth-grade science teacher Brent Illenberger will be leading the event, which he discovered.
"I became interested in putting this event together when I first witnessed it on the Discovery Channel several years ago. During this time, I was amazed to see thousands of spectators and participants flock to Delaware to watch whose homemade contraption could propel a pumpkin the farthest distance using air cannons, catapults, trebuchets, torsion and many other devices," said Illenberger. "After that day, I’ve always dreamed and thought about creating a similar event for the students of Bay Middle School. Well, four years ago, it finally became a reality. Not knowing what to expect at the time, I was amazed at the excitement and enthusiasm the students had for such an event, along with their parents too."
The following prizes will be given out on Thursday:
Farthest Distance in all four categories (Trebuchet, Catapult, Slingshots and Human Toss)
Most Decorative Device
Most Team Spirit
Accuracy - Prizes given to anyone hitting any of the 12 random targets in the field
The event took place at Cahoon Park, located between Wolf Road and Lake Road.
Around 140 children participated in the event. Many parents and teachers watched the event as well.