Explosions and demonstrations put on by the physics and chemistry clubs will bring in Dad’s Weekend with a bang.

At 11:30 a.m. on Saturday the clubs’ members will drop pumpkins off the sixth and 12th floors of Webster Hall to the Webster Plaza.

“The idea behind the event is to recreate Galileo’s gravity experiment, when he dropped items off the leaning tower of Pisa,” said Nicholas Cerruti, physics club adviser and senior instructor for the physics and astronomy department.

The pumpkins will contain a variety of materials, including liquid nitrogen, candy, glitter, or cornstarch, Cerruti said.

“Seeing the pumpkins splat is what people are excited about,” he said.

While the pumpkins drop, students from the physics club will put on an educational skit on the ground level that is integrated into the experiment, Cerruti said.

“In past years they’ve done scientists, a time machine and even Sarah Palin a few years ago,” Cerruti said. “This year they’re doing mummies and vampires.”

Mary Guenther, recruiter and outreach specialist for the department of physics and astronomy, said there are other activities that take place before the pumpkin dropping.

There will be pumpkin decorating, explanations of gravity, physics toys for purchase, a glider demonstration, and an exploding volcano, Guenther said.

“In general, it’s just awesome throwing things off a 12-story building, and it’s even more awesome when people below are putting on a hilarious skit explaining what’s happening and the physics behind it,” junior physics major Justin Niedermeyer said.

The event is a great opportunity to entertain dads and draw in community members, Niedermeyer said.

“The event makes it accessible for the campus and community to come and watch, and dads like watching things explode,” Niedermeyer said.

Cerruti said safety precautions for the event are in place as well, including barriers around the landing zone for the pumpkins.

“In the past we’ve even had students with garbage can shields in case any pieces get past the barriers,” he said.

The activities will begin in the Webster Plaza at 10:30 a.m., and the pumpkin dropping will begin at 11:30.

The WSU chemistry club will also put on a special demonstration for Dad’s Weekend, hoping to encourage interest in science, said Bree Berg, senior biochemistry and pre-med major and chemistry club president.

“We set it up in a way so that the audience sees reactions, and then we explain it afterwards,” Berg said. “We try to make it visually stunning.”

The annual demonstrations are organized for both Mom’s and Dad’s Weekends and are meant to be theatrical and entertain parents, Berg said.

“It practices the skills we’ve been learning in the club and also shows off to the parents what their tuition money is paying for,” said Erin Adams, senior chemistry and pre-med major and secretary and historian of the chemistry club.

The demonstration will also include an exploding pumpkin, a flaming snowball and thermite explosions, Adams said.

The event will take place in Fulmer 226 on Saturday from 10-11 a.m.