There are many ways to celebrate Halloween: trick-or-treating, handing out candy to little princesses and pirates, or going to blowout costume parties, wearing costumes that one outgrow to lifetimes ago. The Parks College of Engineering takes a slightly different approach though, using the holiday as a teaching experience for its students by hosting their annual “Great Pumpkin Launch.”

“The contest may sound like fun and games, but it’s serious stuff,” Mary Jennerjohn said in a press release. The contest gives students a chance to apply their in-class knowledge to real-life problems. Contests are assigned the task of launching large pumpkins across Tegeler to a 12-inch target, 75 feet away from where they lay their trebuchets or catapults.

While Charlie Brown will not be in attendance, physics and engineering students alike will vie for the top prize, launching themselves into the annals of Pumpkin Launch victors.

While one may be asking why this tasty morsel of news falls in the sports section, fear not. The competition has rules, scorekeepers, and judges to determine the kings and queens of fall. Last year proved an interesting compilation of team names ranging from Morpheus to Pumpkin Head. Much more then the cliché “Smaishing Pumpkins” title is required of teams that want to compete here.

Like any good sport though, the referees do not deter from the spirit of competition. They serve as invisible judges, letting the students duke it out on the field.

Some professors will be on edge, as two years ago one trebuchet backfired, sending a pumpkin flying through a window in Ritter Hall.

“I couldn’t help but laugh,” Jessica Rozycki, then the coordinator of the event, said at the time.

Not only does the launch help students put their engineering skills to good use, it also raises money for charity. Canned goods are collected at the event, and a cornucopia of fall treats will be sold, with half of the proceeds going to charity.