trophy and cash prizes!
trebuchet!
some fly high!
some not so much
duct tape rules!
the winning pumpkin launcher made out of trees by the Lumberjacks
high school band drumroll
cleanup contest
Students from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology participated in the annual pumpkin catapult contest in Rapid City on Saturday
The teams varied in their expertise and attire, there were the pirates and lumberjacks, the guys with ties with their high flying trebuchets, and then there was the physics team. It was the physics team first try at this competition, the design was lacking, the teammates were lackluster, the catapult (named Ol' Reliable) broke once in practice, more duct tape, even gorilla tape, then broke again during competition, better luck next time guys! (lots of sympathy from Buddy for having tried to do this before with grandson Kyle!
When we first arrived here in Rapid City we heard on TV something called the South Dakota School of Mines, and wondered what it was - is it where you learn to be a miner? are there mines around here?
Then we passed by a sign for the school: South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The technology part of the school is what we witnessed at the punkin chunkin contest. The student TEAMS had to design a pumpkin catapult for the contest. These teams usually work on their separate fields of interest, like creating and building off-road vehicles, airplanes, robots, bridges.
Founded in 1885 in Rapid City, S.D. to provide instruction in mining engineering at
a location where mining was the primary industry, the South
Dakota School of
Mines & Technology evolved into a science and engineering research facility offering bachelor’s, master’s and
doctoral degrees. The university enrolls 2,640 students from 45 states and 37 countries,
with a student-to-faculty ratio of 14:1. The SD School of Mines placement rate
is 98 percent, with an average early career salary for graduates of $65,600,
according to the 2014-2015 PayScale report. ~ from SDSMT website
And just last week in the news: The South
Dakota School
After learning about the school, it looks like the annual punkin chunkin contest is just a fun diversion from all the other interesting things going on at the SD School of Mines!
