Forget spooky faces – this is Halloween pumpkin art with a science twist! Sunnyfields Farm in Southampton has created an enormous portrait of one of our favourite science heroes, Sir David Attenborough, using around 11,000 pumpkins and squashes!
The spook-tacular portrait celebrates the legendary wildlife fan and TV star, who turned 100 in May 2026. Sir David is most famous for his documentaries which have inspired generations of children and adults to explore the natural world and protect our planet.
A pumpkin masterpiece!
The giant portrait was designed by artist Andrew Bega and took a team of 18 people just five hours to assemble, with help from three JCB telehandlers. You can watch a video of the amazing artwork taking shape right here:
Every pumpkin and squash was carefully positioned to create the picture, using only their natural colours. The trickiest parts? Sir David’s eyes and mouth!
And here’s a fruity science fact: pumpkins and squashes are actually fruits, not vegetables! They belong to a group of plants called cucurbita.
Growing a Halloween giant
This year’s hot, dry weather made growing the pumpkins particularly challenging. Pumpkin plants need plenty of sunshine and water, but their deep-growing roots can help them reach moisture underground.
The farm even added 20 tonnes of soil to make its giant display bigger than ever!
What a smashing way to celebrate Halloween!