Fall Fest for sixth graders was held on Thursday, Nov. 6, through Friday, Nov. 7. Many activities were held on Fall Fest, such as carving pumpkins, building pumpkin cars, and using mini trebuchets.
“It is educational and fun for students. They usually enjoy it for the most part,” Ms. Jeanine Ging, 6th grade math and science teacher, said. Students are involved in hands-on activities, which allow them to have more fun than if they were to just do papers and listen to someone talk.
“Friday was scheduled for us to go up to the high school, but it was supposed to rain.”
Fall Fest got lucky, and the students were still able to go to the high school and have fun. At the high school, students were able to race the pumpkin cars that they had crafted and then watch a 15 foot trebuchet launch pumpkins into the air.
“It’s always awesome to me that the students get to use simple machines and statistics in their work.” Ms. Ging said.
Simple machines, like trebuchets, and statistics, like finding the average distance that the trebuchet can throw an object, are included in Fall Fest. In the gym, mini trebuchets were set up to launch objects to the other side of the wall. Students used stats to find multiple factors of how the trebuchet is throwing those items.
The high school Physics Club, along with Dr. Brian Wargo, helped run the events and help the students with Thursday’s activities.
“The hardest part about having the high school students come down and help the middle school students is scheduling because the high schoolers don’t actually have Fall Fest, and they still have other classes that they have to attend to,” Dr. Brian Wargo, high school physics teacher, said. The high school students are not having a Fall Fest. Just the physics club comes down and helps supervise the activities. So they still need to go to classes, but they make it work.
“Anytime we can really show physics and how science works to the younger children. That’s always a plus,” Dr. Wargo said. Students seem to enjoy Fall Fest activities, and they are learning things without even realizing it.
“I liked it, and I think we could’ve done it on a better week,” Teagan Antoline (6) said. The week was a little cold and rainy, but it turned out.
“I think that the launcher thing could have been better because it only launched one pumpkin the right way,” Sara Houy (6) said. Referring to the 15 ft trebuchet used at the high school.
“It was good. It was a great experience interacting with the high school physics club. I think it would be better if like everyone got a schedule because I made a sticky note of my schedule and got constantly asked what class I had next if they were in my class group thing,” Aubrey Capehart (6) said.
