Early in the morning on Thursday, October 31, students at Kyrene de los Cerritos Leadership Academy in Ahwatukee poured into the campus courtyard for their third annual pumpkin drop, the final step in a schoolwide STEM project.

“Over the last few years, Cerritos has been building an emphasis on STEM on our campus,” Principal Dr. Mark Eley said. “The annual pumpkin drop is the perfect opportunity for us to get the kids excited about STEM in a fun, fall-themed way.”

Much like the classic egg drop project, students were tasked with collaborating with their peers to design an apparatus that would protect a small pumpkin from being broken or smashed when dropped from a considerable height. In this case, the pumpkins had to survive the drop from the roof of the school’s media center. Dropping the pumpkins onto a drop cloth with a painted target was former Assistant Principal Tim O’Donnell, who made a surprise appearance to the delight of the students.

One apparatus was designed per classroom in each grade level. The apparatuses had to fit specific parameters and be made of approved supplies, be openable within 30 seconds so that staff could quickly determine if the pumpkins survived the fall. Some of the supplies used by students to cushion their pumpkins' fall were large cotton balls, empty jugs, packing materials like bubble wrap, and foam pool noodles.

"This was a class challenge aimed at teaching kids how to communicate with each other," explained Principal Eley. "The planning was done as a whole class, providing a wonderful opportunity for students to work together collaboratively on a project."

Once all the pumpkins were dropped, Principal Eley congratulated the students on their hard work and successful collaboration. Out of the 17 apparatuses that were created, just under half were successful in protecting the pumpkin from breaking during the fall; a marked improvement from the previous school year.