Learning takes a fun fall at Chico State’s annual Pumpkin Drop event

CHICO, Calif. — Learning doesn’t have to be dull. Case in point: the annual Pumpkin Drop at Chico State.

Several hundred students from schools around Chico packed into the heart of the Chico State University campus on Friday to watch about two dozen pumpkins take a 50-foot plunge from a crane — all in the name of science.

The event, now a fall tradition, is part demonstration, part spectacle — and entirely about making physics fun.

“We’re showing children that physics isn’t scary — it’s actually a lot of fun,” said Kendall Hall, an assistant professor in the University's Physicals Department. “That’s something people should learn at a young age.”

The demonstration taught students that without air resistance, all objects fall at the same rate of acceleration, regardless of their weight