Normantown Elementary School students prepare for 'Pumpkin Drop'
with GSC Professors Larry Baker and Dr. Kevin Evans (back right)
Glenville, WV â Several Glenville State College students and a team of three faculty members hosted 'The Great Pumpkin Drop' for students from Normantown Elementary School.
Thirty-six 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students visited the GSC campus on Wednesday, October 10th to test their pumpkin drop container designs by dropping them from the top floor of the Scott Wing of Pickens Hall. The students also took the opportunity to tour the GSC science building and interact with GSC Assistant Professor of Physical Science Larry Baker, GSC Professor of Chemistry Dr. Kevin Evans, and GSC Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. David O'Dell.
Glenville State College students and a team of
three faculty members hosted 'The Great Pumpkin Drop'
for students from Normantown Elementary School
Professor Baker visited Normantown Elementary School on Friday, October 19th to follow up with the students and help them incorporate what they learned from the pumpkin drop test into their designs. The Normantown students were preparing for the WVU Pumpkin Drop. "We are always excited to work with our local schools to help encourage students to get interested in science and math. Connecting with students is an integral part of our STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) collaboration between higher education and K-12," said Baker.
The 25th Annual WVU Pumpkin Drop was held on the Evansdale Campus on Friday, October 26th hosted by the WVU student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. A total of 280 pumpkins were dropped by students of all ages from schools around the region. Only 41 pumpkins survived the drop. Normantown Elementary School's 4th and 5th grade teams were among those with successful drops. Both classes were approximately 7 feet from the center of the target. The final winner was three feet five inches from the target.
"We were very excited to have the involvement of the college professors and their students. By collaborating with GSC, our students were able to gain knowledge and resources needed to be successful at the WVU Pumpkin Drop. The practice drop that our students did from Pickens Hall was very valuable in teaching the students what they needed to correct on their 'pumpkin container' before the final drop at WVU. Our class would like to extend a special thanks to Professor Baker for making a special trip to Normantown to help us with some final changes for the drop. Working one-on one with GSC students and doing a question and answer session with GSC professors Dr. David O'Dell and Dr. Kevin Evans certainly helped our students with this exciting project," said Normantown Elementary 4th and 5th grade teacher Julia Stewart.
Normantown Elementary School and GSC hope to partner on similar projects in the future. GSC faculty and students will serve as judges for the NES Science Fair on December 18th.
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