Pumpkin Drop at New York Museum Draws Smashing Crowd

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – What is the sound that a falling pumpkin makes when it hits the ground?

Hundreds of people know the answer on Long Island. They paid $9 admission for a "smashing pumpkins" event at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, N.Y.

The crowd cheered Friday as several hundred overripe pumpkins were dropped from a second-story balcony to burst and splatter in a moist explosion of seeds and pulp.

The largest weighed several hundred pounds.

Eleven-year-old Brian Scala said it was "really cool."

The pumpkins were donated by a local nursery and will be reused as compost.