In this super fun project based learning activity, students will take on a creative engineering challenge by designing and constructing their own pumpkin helmets using recyclable materials. Each student or group will be provided with a variety of materials such as cardboard, plastic bottles, foam, and tape. They will think critically about the properties of these items and then create a helmet that can effectively protect a pumpkin…from a second story drop to the pavement!

Before they begin, I have my students do some research around the design of helmets. What makes for a good helmet? Is there a difference between, say, bike helmets and football helmets? How does each material in a helmet contribute to protecting the wearer? Students discuss the principles of impact protection, brainstorming design features that can absorb shock and distribute force.

Here is a great article describing bike helmets from Popular Mechanics!

Once the design phase is complete, students will build their pumpkin helmets, applying the engineering concepts they’ve learned. They will test their creations by carefully placing a pumpkin inside the helmet and securing it (packing tape works great for this). Our school is two stories, with a set of outdoor stairs – a perfect place to test our helmets! Student groups each take a turn dropping their pumpkins, helmet first, to the concrete below. 

After the helmets have been dropped from the balcony, students unwrap their pumpkin to assess the results. They examine the pumpkins for damage, noting how well their helmet performed based on damage sustained by the squash. 

Create a Pumpkin Damage Scale

Before students can evaluate their results, they need some type of objective scale. With the similar ‘egg drop test’, you pretty much either succeed (egg stays whole) or fail (egg busts). Pumpkins are a little more resilient than eggs. Are two cracks in the pumpkin bad? Or pretty good? 

Every experiment needs a control. Have students bring their own bike helmets or sports helmets to test. Can these store bought helmets prevent pumpkin damage? The other control is always fun – a pumpkin with no helmet! Strap a piece of paper on with a bit of tape and let it drop! 

Use the controls to create a ‘Damage Scale’ with your students. Level 1 is pumpkin with no helmet (the worst outcome possible). Level 5 is a pumpkin with no damage. Don’t be surprised if some store-bought helmets still allow a crack or two appear in their pumpkins! Place the control pumpkins in your improvised scale. When students test their own helmets, they will report their results as somewhere on the scale.

Do the control tests a day or more before students do their own drops. This will allow students to observe what happens and use the info to make their designs. 

How Much Force?

How can we know the amount of force that a pumpkin experiences when it falls from the second story of my school’s stairwell? It is possible to calculate force using physics. Set up a slow motion camera (iphone) and a speed stick to record and calculate the speed of your pumpkin at impact, and the distance it took to decelerate. 

You can also compare helmets. What amount of force can a bike helmet withstand compared to a football helmet?

HINT – ChatGTP can answer all of these questions for you! In fact, ChatGTP can do a lot! Checkout this blog post with six easy ways to use ChatGTP in your classroom!

Make it a Research Project

There are many ways to extend this activity into a research project. Here are just a few!

• Students or groups can write a report (or presentation) explaining what they learned about helmet design and function. Have them explain the materials they used, why they chose them, and what they hoped those materials would achieve in protecting their pumpkin. Include photographs of the creation process, and photos of the results. They must reflect on the success or failure of their design. What might they do differently if they could try again?
• Have students research traumatic brain injuries. What happens when a person is not wearing a helmet (or an ill fitting helmet) and falls off a bike, or gets tackled by a linebacker? Is a helmet enough to protect the brain? What is happening when a person gets a concussion? Or if they get multiple concussions? 
• Investigate the helmets (or lack of helmets) for different sports. Which sports are the most dangerous to the brain?  How are helmets designed differently for various sports? What is the long term prognosis for athletes participating in these sports? 
• Students can research the history of helmets. What were they first made of? How have they changed over time? What types of regulations are put on helmets for different sports and activities? How are helmets tested for safety?
• Explore the culture of helmets in different parts of the world. What countries mandate the use of helmets? Do some places (or time periods in history) put more emphasis on helmets than others? What types of helmets are used in other countries and cultures? 

Materials for Making Pumpkin Helmets

Students can use a variety of household materials and recyclables to build their pumpkin helmets. I start collecting at the beginning of each year! Consider having your students bring in materials as well.

Here are some ideas:

• Cardboard: Strong and versatile, cardboard can be used to create a sturdy outer shell for the pumpkin helmet.
• Egg Cartons: The padded sections of egg cartons can add cushioning and absorb impact.
• Plastic Bottles: Empty plastic bottles can be cut and used to create a protective layer or added structure.
• Bubble Wrap: Provides excellent cushioning and can line the inside of the helmet for added protection.
• Newspaper: Crumpled newspaper can be used as a padding material to help absorb shock.
• Foam: Old foam from packaging or cushions can line the helmet and provide extra padding.
• Old Cloth or Fabric: Soft fabrics like old t-shirts or towels can be used to line the helmet or add cushioning.
• Packing Peanuts: If you have packing peanuts from shipped packages, they can provide good shock absorption.
• Plastic Grocery Bags: Can create a layer of padding, or filled with other materials that can add cushioning.
• Bubble Wrap: Offers excellent shock absorption and can be used to line the inside of the helmet or as an outer layer.
• Styrofoam: Pieces of styrofoam can provide additional padding and impact resistance.
• Tin Foil: Can add a hard outer layer or to reinforce the structure of the helmet.
• You will also need a lot of tape (packing tape, duct tape) and or hot glue to hold materials together, and hold the pumpkin onto the helmet

Encourage students to think creatively about how to combine these materials for optimal protection. They can experiment with different layers and configurations to find the best design for keeping their pumpkin intact.

Give pumpkins to your students the day they start creating their helmets. It is important that the helmet they make fits the pumpkin they use. If it is too big or small, the helmet will be much less effective. 

Pumpkin Helmet Limits

You may want to put some limits or restrictions on the helmet! A two foot layer of cloth would keep any pumpkin safe! But that removes the design challenge! I have a piece of string that is about three feet long. I must be able to wrap the string around the pumpkin+helmet, otherwise the helmet is too big. Your limits may be different depending on the size of your pumpkins, the available materials, and the challenge level you want to present to your students. For the first year, be flexible! See what works and what doesn’t. The next year you will have a better sense for any restrictions you want put in place. 

You can decide if the helmet must be removable, or if the whole pumpkin can be surrounded by material. Removable helmets are more challenging to make! If you are going that route, be sure your students strap the pumpkin in securely before the drop – or they will pop right out of the helmet and hit the pavement hard! 

Procuring The Pumpkins

Pumpkins are plentiful in October or November (or December)! If you have the funds, you can buy pumpkins. I envy you if you can buy pumpkins. 

Related: Check out his post about six fun ways to use skeletons for learning in your science classroom! 

I prefer to get pumpkin donations! Just after Thanksgiving, everyone is looking to get rid of their fall decor. Have your students bring in any pumpkins that they might have. Put out an all-call to your fellow teachers to bring you any that they have. I also post on FaceBook, letting people know what we will be doing with the donated pumpkins and promising fun pictures. I volunteer to come pick up anything people are willing to give. 

I encourage my students to name their pumpkins. Even give them a face (with markers – no carving)! It makes the activity even more fun. 

Not Near November?

Are you reading this post, and it is far from November? That’s okay! You can sub in watermelons or cantaloupes! They work great, but it is harder to find people willing to donate them. If you do go this route, consider asking parents to donate a cantaloupe or two if they can. Cantaloupes typically provide more consistent size and shape than watermelons, so they are usually a better bet. 

The Drop Zone and Aftermath 

Science is messy sometimes. Even encased in a helmet, there will be pumpkin guts! Spreading out a tarp, drop cloth, or old bedsheet over the splat zone is very helpful for cleanup. 

What to do with all the used pumpkins? Find a local farm to donate them to! Chickens and pigs love pumpkins. The farmers will be more than happy to come pick them up from the school. Put the word out on Facebook and you will have lots of takers.I recommend scheduling this ahead of time so the same day of the drop, the pumpkins can move along to their final destination. Rotting pumpkin is no joke. 

If you want to, encourage your students to take home a few pumpkin seeds! You can dry them out and plant them next year to grow new pumpkins!

I hope you feel inspired to make pumpkin helmets a yearly tradition in your science classroom. It is one of my favorite projects!   

Happy Teaching!