Saratoga High Robotics Team Hosts Pumpkin-Smashing Event to Promote Sustainability and STEM
Saratoga High School’s MSET Robotics Club hosts the annual SMASH (STEM Madness At Saratoga High) Maker Fair, featuring student-engineered pneumatic machines that pulverize leftover jack-o-lanterns into compost. Held on November 1 from 2 to 5 p.m., the event aims to prevent pumpkins from decomposing in landfills where they emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas, while fostering STEM interest in the community.
Since its launch five years prior, the fair has expanded to include over 40 booths and partnerships with local organizations, universities such as San Jose State and UC Berkeley, and companies like Tesla, which demonstrated its new self-driving car model at the event. The students have developed three different pneumatic machines: one that drives spikes through pumpkins, another using a vertical piston to crush them, and a third that drops a 40-pound sledgehammer.
In the previous year, the team composted over 1,000 pounds of pumpkin. The event is supported by a community grant from the City of Saratoga and features participation from groups including Santa Clara County Fire and Sustainable Saratoga. According to senior Anya Vora, the initiative exemplifies how robotics can serve environmental sustainability and inspire future STEM generations.
Source: The Mercury News.