The 21st Annual Pumpkin Drop 2008

Gravity still works: And falling pumpkins prove it

CHICO -- It's not every day that pumpkins fall from the sky. And on days they do, it's probably worth checking out.

Hundreds of elementary school children arrived at Chico State University's Butte Hall Thursday for a field trip organized by the Society of Physics Students.

The 21-year tradition includes physics students who ascend to the top balcony of the Butte Hall stairway to drop pumpkins when they receive the command.

Hundreds of elementary school students, their teachers and many parents amassed on the lawn at the base of the building.

Chico State University students who were in the area couldn't help but check out the scene as well.

Onlookers were understandably excited.

Physics students dressed in costumes depicting famed scientists Albert Einstein, Aristotle, Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton.

Each character briefly explained their theories of gravity, using dropped pumpkins to punctuate their points.

For example, Aristotle, played by Joe Vranch, believed that feathers fell more slowly than other objects, such as pumpkins, because feathers are more attracted to air than earth.

That theory lasted for 2,000 years, the physics students explained.

The demonstration lasted seconds as a pumpkin smashed down to the ground and a white feather boa drifted slowly down toward the cheering children.

Chad Gillis played Galileo using an accent that sounded much like 1970s "Saturday Night Live" character Father Guido Sarducci. Two pumpkins were dropped Advertisement to demonstrate his theory that any two objects dropped at the same time would land simultaneously.

Sir Isaac Newton, played by Brendan O'Dea, wore a white wig, black graduation robe and tennis shoes, and Joel Amato played Albert Einstein.

While the pumpkins dropping to the ground outshadowed the science presented, students in attendance had lessons in their class that preceded the field trip.

Margaret Tebo and Susan Schrader brought their fourth-grade classes from Emma Wilson School. The teachers joined their students in dancing to Halloween-appropriate music such as "Monster Mash" and the "Ghost Busters," while the children waited for the smash-and-learn demonstration.

Tebo said her class was very fortunate because physics professor David Kagan, who has run the event for two decades, agreed to speak to her class before the event. She said the lessons help students learn about scientific method and gravity.

She said she enjoys the field trip to the college. It's close to her school and lets her fourth-graders see a little bit of college life.

A Chico State maintenance staffer said the smashed pumpkins were already spoken for. A local resident who raises pigs asked if he could collect the pumpkin mush to feed to his animals.

This article may be found on-line at ChicoER.com.