ROCHESTER — More than 1,200 boxes of cereal stood upright in the halls of Rochester Memorial School Thursday morning. They lined the hallways, curled down a flight of stairs and stretched through two levels of the building.

A nudge to the first box — Rice Crisps — triggered a chain of cereal tipping over like dominoes. Three minutes and 30 seconds later, the final box toppled.

It was the culmination of an idea gleaned online by parent teacher organization event coordinator Samantha Murtaugh. A school-wide competition was held to bring in cereal boxes. They were then organized into a procession to be knocked over on March 7, perhaps better known as National Cereal Day.

By the time the domino train commenced, the Rochester Memorial School community hauled in more than 1,200 boxes of cereal. One parent even brought 135 boxes on Tuesday, according to PTO parent president Kirstin Jimenez. Those boxes will then be donated to local food pantries.

A group of students counted exactly 1,234 packages of cereal in the chain. Down the entire train, students and faculty sat or stood on both sides to watch. Murtaugh pushed over the starting box.

“I think it was unreal,” Murtaugh said. “So much better than I was expecting, and I was not expecting this much cereal to be brought in. I was thinking 500 boxes or something.”

Jimenez said the event is “something fun” that incorporates math, physics and communication skills. There’s also the fact that more than 1,200 cereal boxes will now be donated to food banks.

After the domino train concluded, the boxes upon boxes of cereal were gathered into the PTO room at Rochester Memorial School. A box truck, fittingly, is being sought to help with the eventual transport to food pantries, Jimenez said.

Sixth grade ambassadors served a crucial role during the event, according to Jimenez.

“They fixed the technical problems,” she said. “They came up with a great idea to get them down the stairs. They were awesome.”

After Murtaugh first pushed the leading box of Rice Crisps, she followed the ensuing wave, cellphone in hand recording the cereal crash.

Only seconds after the final box — this one Honey Nut Cheerios — hit the floor, Murtaugh said the domino train was “a core memory.” She said she still couldn’t get over how cool it was.

“I was running behind it so excited,” Murtaugh said. “I was shaking. I was getting emotional, about to cry because it was so exciting.”