October 31, 2024
A staple of the fall season became the shining star of an interdisciplinary unit for students at J.E.J. Moore Middle School as the school's sixth and seventh graders explored one of the most recognizable gourds out there - the pumpkin.
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Throughout the closing days of October, students learned about the history of pumpkins and their role in agriculture and trade while also taking a deep dive into the origins of the jack o' lantern. Alongside the history lessons, Moore students also created poetry with pumpkins as the main subject of their pieces.
The activities culminated on Halloween morning in the school's bus loop as dozens of students donned safety goggles and carried clipboards intending to answer a single question - how many rubber bands does it take to "pop" a pumpkin?
Breaking into small teams, the groups strategically placed dozens of rubber bands on their pumpkins, ensuring they kept an accurate count of each band stretched across the gourds. Throughout the morning activity, the pumpkins popped open one by one under the pressure of the growing ribbon of rubber bands. Some students found that their pumpkins finally yielded to the pressure after only a couple of rubber bands were placed, while others had over 500 bands wrapped around their pumpkins with almost no budging.
As each pumpkin eventually broke open, the work of the student scientists continued as they measured the circumference of the gourd and the thickness of the pumpkin's interior walls. From there, the students used their math skills to graph various data points, including the number of rubber bands used and the time it took for the pumpkin to pop open.
The activity has become a recurring tradition for Moore Middle School, serving as an engaging experience that unifies a variety of subjects while also inspiring thoughtful teamwork and collaboration between students.
FUN FACT: It took an average of 303 rubber bands to pop the pumpkins during Thursday's activity.