A ladder truck gives Berkeley Springs students a place to drop their pumpkins
When roof work blocked the usual drop, Berkeley Springs High science students used the Great Cacapon Volunteer Fire Company's ladder truck to test pumpkin-protecting designs before a West Virginia University challenge.
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Berkeley Springs High science students still got to drop their pumpkins, The Morgan Messenger reported. Roof work had closed the usual spot, so the Great Cacapon Volunteer Fire Company raised a ladder truck and the class used that height to test designs meant to keep a pumpkin intact. The trials are practice for a challenge at West Virginia University.
The truck was a workaround for one blocked roof. The designs are what the students are taking to the university contest. A drop that survives in Berkeley Springs is a test, not a trophy from WVU.
For the classroom
Science students at Berkeley Springs High in West Virginia build contraptions that are supposed to keep a pumpkin from breaking when it is dropped. They usually drop the pumpkins from the school roof. This year roof work blocked that spot. The Great Cacapon Volunteer Fire Company brought a ladder truck, and the students used the raised ladder as their drop tower instead. They were practicing before a challenge at West Virginia University. A ladder truck is a fire engine with a long ladder that can reach high. The news is that the firefighters gave the class a new height to test from, so the experiment could still happen.
- What would you wrap around a pumpkin so it survives a fall?
- Why test a design before a bigger contest?
- How did the fire truck solve a problem the roof could not?
For a teacher to read with a class. Print the story of the day · Morning announcements · All classroom stories · This week's Good News Friday pack
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