Annual pumpkin drop is hands-on experiment Colorado Springs students will never forget

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- On Friday, students at the Colorado Springs School got to participate in a hands-on assignment with the Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD).

Students from kindergarten through 12th grade got to design a pod prototype to protect a pumpkin that was lifted up by a fire truck ladder and dropped 75 feet.

The goal was to see what class managed to get the pumpkin out of the box without it being cracked.  

It's a hands-on assignment that stays engraved in the kids' memory. Nate Mylin is the Division Director of the lower school of the Colorado Springs School. He said the pumpkin drop is something they look forward to every year. 

"When the kids put something into practice and use their hands, they learn so much better. It sticks with them. The conceptual knowledge is amazing," said Mylin.  "Omg we call this, this is the highlight of our extreme day. The 'x' is experimental education which is what we are all about here in the Colorado Springs School." 

Mylin said the pumpkin drop not only teaches kids about science and math but also allows them to work together as a team to problem solve. Skills that are needed in the real world. 

"You know there is many times nowadays in our schools that education is just so scripted or so predictable and that's okay to have a little bit of that, but if you spread it out with your experimental education and some hands-on learning, you get so much more out of the kids," added Mylin.  

This year, the only requirement students had was to make sure staff were able to see the pumpkin that was inside of the box through a 64 square center meter gap. The students were also able to cover their pumpkins with any recyclable material they found in their homes. This year, the kindergarteners beat out every other team in the challenge. 

Educators at the Colorado Springs School said they plan on continuing this tradition and will eventually add more hands-on community lessons like the pumpkin drop in the near future.