![]() ![]() “One, which is when it’s launching through the air, it’s not gonna slow down,” Tewksbury said, while the third law provides that the pumpkin and the catapult exert equal force on each other. Magnum teammate Sasha Tewksbury said they have just learned about Newton’s laws of motion and some apply to the competition. The 6-foot scale model they built threw a pumpkin 40 yards. “I went outside he already had chalked out on the cement how large he wanted to make it,” he said. Mark Krueger said his son came home in September and announced he had signed up to be a team captain. “Everything really lined up perfectly on it.” Shouts of “Go, baby, go!” and “Nice job!” filled the air as this pumpkin, like its predecessor, sailed past the marked football practice field, past the baseball field and into the cornfield beyond.Ĭheers and praise rained upon designer Michael Kruger, who was quick to share. “‘Cause God helps us,” explained Nick Longuski.Īs it released, the machine made an audible whipping sound. 4:13: “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” The fluorescent green-trimmed catapult bore a Bible verse, Phil. ![]() Their trebuchet was built from pine logs harvested from the Kruegers’ property and skinned by the students, with a basketball net sling, purchased lumber stretching 29 feet into the air and weights totaling 412 pounds. The Magnum team gathered in prayer before cranking up for a throw. Troy Kinne made sure any of the girls who hadn’t used hammers or air nailers got proper instruction. Printing of their matching T-shirts was donated, and a scrap metal company not only provided plates when the student project was explained, it cut them to size free of charge. ![]() Her daughter’s team hit up a local store early on, garnering about $100 in lumber. “It’s not an easy project and it’s not a cheap project, ’because the school doesn’t fund it,” she said. Two years ago, their son was on a team of all boys. She and her husband, Troy, lent their home for construction by the all-girl team. Jennifer Kinne watched as her daughter, Samantha, scurried about with the other Pumpkin Spice Girls as they discussed swapping out 45-pound weights for 25-pounders. Students also were graded on having some sort of team uniform, a video and a presentation that demonstrated the physics of their projects. “That’s all that we’re counting is the distance.”ĭistances of 50 to 100 yards were marked off on the football practice field beside the high school, with 40 yards the minimum acceptable distance for the assignment and bonus points awarded for past 60 yards. Teammate Ellie Juengel said they might change the release point as well, to gain more distance. “We’re putting more weight on it to make it go farther.” “If this breaks, someone’s gonna die,” said Catie Meyer of the Pumpkin Spice Girls, who had seen mixed success and were making adjustments. ![]() There were no injuries, but several pumpkins slid free of their slings and flew backwards, or released at the wrong point and sailed straight up into the air - and back down into the crowd. One catapult froze, and the repeated jerking on the trigger that ensued prompted a bystander to predict that the weights would fall off and cause a concussion. All the teams eventually achieved forward momentum, but some took several tries. The initial whistle blows were accompanied by a shout of “Fire in the hole!” but people quickly learned to move aside at each whistle blast. Cheers erupted with each toss, even louder for great height - until a few throws indicated that great height usually canceled out great distance. The crowd swelled to nearly 300 at times, including parents, classmates and a large group of grade school children who sat in the nearby bleachers for the later stages of competition. “Different mass of projectiles have different trajectories,” she explained. She has taught physics at Bullock Creek for 15 years and this was the 12th for the competition, which requires that students propel not only pumpkins but gallon jugs of water. The competition itself was a project of Erin Martin’s accelerated physics class, with students split into teams of up to nine. ![]()
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