Oct. 30, 2019 — The UTSA College of Engineering and the Student Success Center will host the annual Monster Mash Pumpkin Smash and STEM Fair on Saturday, Nov. 2 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Main Campus’ east campus parking lot. Admission is free and open to the public.
Every year UTSA student organizations build medieval trebuchets, which are catapulting devices, and compete in a pumpkin-launching contest to see who can sling their pumpkin the farthest. This has been a long-standing tradition within the college. and it gets very competitive.
“This family-friendly event has always been a fun opportunity to share some of UTSA and the College of Engineering with the community,” said Jill Ford, assistant dean and director of the College of Engineering’s Student Success Center.
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“It is also a way to help make STEM more accessible to everyone,” she added. “Students have the chance to participate in campus life, activities, and events while demonstrating that their passion for engineering goes beyond just math and science. It provides students an opportunity to showcase what they have learned throughout their courses and apply that knowledge in a real-world setting.”
Winning teams in previous years have launched their pumpkins up to 700 feet. This year five College of Engineering and College of Sciences student organizations have been working to construct the perfect trebuchet that will launch them to the top of the competition.
Along with the trebuchet competition, the event also offers a kid-friendly STEM fair, featuring student organizations from both colleges. The fair will feature music, food trucks and interactive activities, including density potions, film canister rockets, fun with acid-based chemistry, paper bridge designing, wooden block Jenga, pumpkin piano.
