More than 100 teens from northern N.J. schools participated in the pumpkin slinging competition Friday. Watch video
ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP -- More than 100 teens from northern New Jersey middle and high schools showcased their engineering skills by slinging pumpkins from catapults and trebuchets into Lake Picatinny at Picatinny Arsenal base.
"Now pumpkin slinging may sound funny to some, but here at Picatinny, pumpkin slinging may possibly lead, someday, for some of you, to develop the next generation of cannons," Anthony Sebasto, executive director of the Enterprise and Systems Integration Center, part of the Armaments Research Development and Engineering Center, said.
In terms of siege weapons, catapults throw projectiles while trebuchets are a type of catapult that uses a sling to hurl projectiles.
Students and teachers from Dover Middle School, Livingston High School, Madison Junior and High School, Morris Knolls High School, Hillside High School and Sussex County Technical School, participated in this first ever Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) event. The trebuchet designs were observed by engineers and scientists from the Picatinny Arsenal.
Quinn Fetterly, a senior from Madison High School, said, "I really enjoy the STEM programs and I think we get to compete and see the work the other schools have put in. This is just a lesson in practical engineering, it's not all that complicated, but it is very much to try something until you figure out how to work through it."
The winners of Friday's challenge were: Morris Knolls High School, A Team, 116 meters; Madison High School, 113 meters; Livingston High School, 88 meters; Madison Junior School, 75 meters; Sussex County Technical School, 71 meters; Morris Knolls High School, B Team, 45 meters; Hillside High School 16.1 meters; Dover Middle School, 10 meters.
Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.