Don't throw out your jack-o'-lantern. Saratoga High School's robotics students will smash it into compost on Sunday, Nov. 1.
The basics
- What: SMASH (STEM Madness At Saratoga High) Maker Fair, hosted by the school's MSET Robotics Club
- When: Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, 2–5 p.m.
- Where: Saratoga High School courtyard
- Cost: Free. All ages, no registration, drop in any time, according to the City of Saratoga's event listing.
The machines
Students designed, built and repaired three pneumatic pumpkin breakers, the Mercury News reported. One drives two spikes through the sides of a pumpkin. Another crushes it with a vertical piston. The third drops a 40-pound sledgehammer on it. Last year the group composted more than 1,000 pounds of pumpkins.
Pumpkins thrown in the trash usually end up in landfills, where they produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas. "It's an environmentally sustainable event with the goal to inspiring STEM in the community and in the next generation," senior Anya Vora told the Mercury News.
Grown from one machine
The fair began in 2022 with a single machine. More than 750 people came last year, when the fair had grown to more than 40 booths with help from a City of Saratoga community grant. Past exhibitors include Santa Clara County Fire, the Saratoga Library, Sustainable Saratoga, local maker groups, and robotics teams from San Jose State, UC Berkeley and nearby elementary and middle schools.