Doctor Steven Wilder presented the career and technical education (CTE) department with the body of what would soon be a ten-foot-tall trebuchet. Wilder prepared the instrument of throwing with the intent of using it to compete in the Pumpkin Festival, and also to give students a unique opportunity to practice their engineering skills.

Two other teams brought their own trebuchets to the festival on Saturday, Oct. 29. One team was sponsored by Valley Tech, and the other team consisted of two former boy scouts who dressed in Crusade era garb. The RCHS team placed second, with a pumpkin launch of nearly 50 yards.

While Wilder performed the early brunt of the labor in producing the aforementioned ancient artillery piece, engineering students were necessary in improving the trebuchet and increasing its firing functionality. The incorporation of students in the construction transcended the trebuchet’s purpose of amusement to that of education.

Wilder said, “I made most of the wooden part of the trebuchet myself, but it was just lumber. The students had to find out how to place a firing mechanism and trigger.”

While there was extensive labor necessary in the preliminary construction, performed by Wilder, the engineering students focused on the more technical aspects of the trebuchet.

“It was good for the students to have this to work on, because they are designing their own trebuchets,” said engineering teacher James Gerken. “It was a great opportunity for our students. Dr. Wilder is always looking for good opportunities for the CTE department.”

While there was considerable fun to be had at the high school’s pumpkin launch and in the trebuchet’s construction, there was also danger.

“We almost got hit by a pumpkin that flew backwards and almost hit us”, said junior advanced engineering student Chris McGyver.

However, at the festival, nobody was hurt.

After the main event, advanced engineering students held their own competition on Dec. 1, but with golf-balls. The trebuchet of junior  Brendan Donohue and sophomores Charles Scherff and Eddie Plodder launched a golf ball 53 feet, horizontally. With this distance, the team handily won the intramural competition

“Working on the big trebuchet solidified everything that we learned and gave us more confidence in making  our own designs,” said Plodder.