South Dakota Mines Engineering Students Launch Pumpkins in Annual Festival Tradition

Rapid City, SD, September 20, 2026 —

Engineering students from South Dakota Mines participated in the annual Great Downtown Pumpkin Festival held in Rapid City. As part of an 18-year-old tradition, the students showcased their ingenuity by designing and constructing custom-built siege engines.

These specialized machines were used to launch pumpkins considerable distances, with some projectiles soaring hundreds of feet into the air. The event highlights the students’ practical application of engineering principles in a community-focused festival setting. The specific details regarding the number of student teams participating, the exact dimensions or capabilities of the siege engines, or the precise distances achieved by the pumpkin launches were not provided. The outcome of the pumpkin launches, such as which team achieved the furthest distance or any specific competitive results, was also not detailed in the information available.

The tradition, now in its 18th year, serves as a unique educational experience for the engineering students, allowing them to test their designs and construction skills in a real-world, albeit festive, scenario. The Great Downtown Pumpkin Festival is a recurring event in Rapid City, drawing community members to observe various activities and displays. The student participation from South Dakota Mines is a long-standing element of this festival, emphasizing the connection between academic learning and public engagement. Further details on the specific engineering disciplines involved or the design challenges faced by the students were not elaborated upon.

Story summarized from the original created by Kennedy Leara on www.kotatv.com, see more information here.

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