Some kids were already destroying their pumpkins before the end of Halloween.
Four teams competed in East Lake County Library's first Pumpkin Chunkin' Contest.
Each team had to propel a three to five-pound pumpkin 100 feet away.
“We built a trebuchet. It's the evolution of the catapult, where instead of having a fixed arm that it's pulled back with tension,” said competitor Jeremy Valverde.
Motivated by the concept of STEM- which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math -- each team had about a month to create and design their catapults.
"We had fun building it, we had more fun talking with the kids about the physics that were involved and what takes place. So it was a great life lesson,” said competitor John Jackson.
The contest isn't about distance, but about accuracy.
"We learned a lot about how it all works, how gravity's a big part of it and how to release and put it together,” said Valerie Valverde.
In the end, only one team could walk away with the trophy. Wranglers 4H got the closest and they say this event was the lead-in to their robotics program.
The East Lake County Library in Sorrento plans to make this an annual event.