RAPID CITY- A team from Douglas High School took the top spot in the annual Pumpkin Chunkin competition held Saturday in Rapid City. The event, part of the Great Downtown Pumpkin Festival, saw student engineering teams launch pumpkins across Memorial Park using trebuchets.
Douglas High School finished with 1095 points, surpassing several teams from South Dakota Mines. The Steel Bridge team from South Dakota Mines finished in second place with 878 points, followed by the Baja team with 834 points. Other South Dakota Mines teams that competed were Rocker Robotics, Supermileage/HPR/RoBoat Robotics, and ChemE Car.
Teams were judged on both the distance and accuracy of their launches, aiming to hit marks at 100, 200, and 250 feet. The event, sponsored by RESPEC, a Rapid City-based engineering firm, is a way to showcase engineering and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, and to connect the university with the community in the Black Hills.
Final Scores:
Douglas High School (Douglas Tech Club)- 1095 pts
Steel Bridge – 878 pts
Baja – 834 pts
Rocker Robotics – 685 pts
Supermileage/HPR/RoBoat Robotics – 430 pts
ChemE Car – 191 pts
