Spellbinding scares and science in Sea Cliff

With the help of Sea Cliff MAKEshop, a non-profit organization that offers science- and arts-based enrichment to the community, residents got into the Halloween spirit by carving pumpkins and displaying them at the Spooky Pumpkin Walk in Elm Park on Oct. 26.

The annual event invites participants to carve a creative pumpkin using scientific methods. Prompts showed instructions on how to enhance a jack-o’-lantern with electric circuitry or chemicals, creating a unique high-tech effect to heighten the pumpkin’s scare factor.

Residents created LED-lighted pumpkins, smoking pumpkins filled with dry ice, and “vomiting” pumpkins that were rigged with baking soda “bombs.” Whenever vinegar was poured through the pumpkin’s head, a cascade of bubbles poured out of its mouth.

North Shore High School’s Art Portfolio Club coated a pod of pumpkins with glow-in-the-dark paint, which illuminated under the purple haze of black light flashlights. And a sculpture class from the high school contributed a garden of shrunken apple heads.

-- Alyssa Seidman