Four teams dropped pumpkins from the ladder of a firetruck behind Sullivan Hall at the Engineering Student Council’s second annual Pumpkin Drop on Oct. 30.

The teams created contraptions to keep their pumpkins from breaking when dropped from about 70 feet off the fire truck.

In order to determine how best to protect the pumpkin, students must look at the acceleration due to gravity and the weight of the pumpkin itself, according to Alyssa Lau, the chairman of the Engineering Tradition Committee.

The four teams competing were allowed to protect their pumpkin however they deemed best. However, no metal, concrete or glass could be used for safety reasons.

The categories being judged were “best protection of pumpkin,” “best design aesthetics,” “most team spirit/best costume” and “best explosion.”

The prizes were buckets of candy and a $20 Campus Corner gift card.

The first Pumpkin Drop was held last year.

At first, the idea was to have an egg drop, but the Engineering Student Council decided on pumpkins instead to make it more festive, according to senior Olivia Donaldson, the head of community development for Engineering Student Council.

“We wanted to find more activities that involved real engineering but were also fun,” said senior Mara Tsudis, president of Engineering Student Council.Preparation for this year’s event began in September.

This year’s Pumpkin Drop ran much like last year’s, but with one notable exception. Instead of being held behind the CEER building as it was last year, the location was changed to behind Sullivan Hall.

“We wanted to make sure it was out for everybody to see this year,” Donaldson said.

“The reason we do this is because we’re such a small college on campus,” said Gayle Doyle, adviser to the Engineering Student Council, “We want people to know we exist.”

Gregory Sleasman, a member of the Engineering Student Council and the Community Development Committee, was pleased with the event. His team won for best explosion. The event is open to all students at Villanova, not just engineers. The Pumpkin Drop does not involve massive amounts of engineering, according to Donaldson.