Events and Enrichment » Historic Figure Pumpkin Decorating

Historic Figure Pumpkin Decorating

Each Fall, Students decorate pumpkins to look like historic figures on Halloween or Just before Halloween, in the Library.

Students bring in a pumpkin that has been decorated to resemble or represent a historical figure such as George Washington or Confucius.

They make a display card showing:

  • adjectives describing the person
  • the person's relatives
  • the person's home
  • the person's years of birth and death
  • the person's talents
  • the person's beliefs
  • what the person is remembered for
  • the person's name

Students choose historic figures from their periods of study:

  • 6th grade: Ancient World History
  • 7th grade: Medieval World History
  • 8th grade: American History (colonial though World War II)

The results every year are nothing short of Spook-tacular!

Once the pumpkins are on display, the Student Body can vote for their favorites, and they are given ribbons.

Pumpkin Decorating Instructions

2023 pumpkin decorating instructions are coming soon!

Deadline: Decorated pumpkins are due Monday, October 30, 2023, to Ms. Garret's room.

Sample Display Card

Mistrusting, Unfaithful, Moody, Athletic
Son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York
Resident of England
Who lived from June 28, 1491 to January 28, 1547
Whose talents included jousting, hunting, and marriage
Who believed himself to be the supreme leader of both church and state
Who is remembered for marrying 6 wives and fathered Queen Elizabeth I
King Henry the Eighth of England, France, and Ireland

2023 Featured Pumpkins

As voted by the Student Body

Most Historically Accurate

First place: Moctezuma II by Natalia Acevedo (7th grade)

Moctezuma II by Natalia Acevedo

Second place: Frederick Douglass by Assad Hinton (8th grade)

Third place: Tanaghrissan (The Half King) by Marlon Ross (8th grade)

Honorable Mention: Princess Anna Komnene by Ashley Lopez (7th grade)

Most Creative

First place: Moses by Blair Assis (6th grade)

Moses by Blair Assis

Second place: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by Eily Bowser (7th grade)

Third place: King Tutankhamun by Ken Nantamanasikarn (6th grade)

Honorable Mention: Greek Goddess Persephone by Chloe Vuu (6th grade)

Best Engineered

First place: Galileo Galilei by McGreggor Roberts (7th grade)

Galileo Galilei by McGreggor Roberts

Second place: Siddhartha Gautama by Arva Parikh (6th grade)

Third place: Galileo Galilei by Sabrina Echeverria (7th grade)

Honorable Mention: King Tutankhamun by Milo Haber (6th grade)

Honorable Mention: Erik the Red by Eric Glacel Bonavia (7th grade)

Honorable Mention: Queen Hatshepsut by Kennedy Turner (6th grade)

Most Life-Like

First place: Sir Francis Drake by Alan Dea (7th grade)

Sir Francis Drake by Alan Dea

Second place: Mahatma Ghandi by Pratim Rajesh (6th grade)

Third place: Itzcoatl by Aahya Khattar & Angela Liang (7th grade)

Honorable Mention: Pachacuti by Namkha Dralma & Leah Mollner (7th grade)

Most Original

First place: Sara Hale by Onaya Rupasinghe (8th grade)

Sara Hale by Onaya Rupasinghe

Second place: Abigail Adams by Jazlyn Ramirez (7th grade)

Third place: Edward Braddock by Doug Eastman (8th grade)

Honorable Mention: Anubis by Abby Rison (6th grade)

Most Decorative

First place: Samoset by Moa Spitaleri (8th grade)

Samoset by Moa Spitaleri

Second place: Cleopatra by Karina Weinstein (6th grade)

Third place: William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy by Jacob Lozano-Salinas (7th grade)

Honorable Mention: Napoleon Bonaparte by Noel Ulloa (7th grade)

Honorable Mention: Anubis by Santioago Gonzalez (6th grade)

2019 Featured Pumpkins

 

First place: Madison Fukuoka for Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan by Madison Fukuoka

Second place: Kayla Pincus for Mayan Lord Pakal

Third place: Ciel Choi for Leonardo da Vinci

Honorable Mention: Quinn Casady for Marie Curie

Honorable Mention: Kaylee Nakagawa for Sacagawea and Baby Pomp

Honorable Mention: Zoe Espinoza for Albert Einstein

2018 Featured Pumpkins

See Also

Pumpkin Day (6th grade)

Art electives (all grades)