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Area students compete in Science Olympiad
Technology, nature and chemistry. These are just a few of the science topics area students competed in Tuesday.
Students faced off at the 24th annual Science Olympiad competition sponsored by Educational Service Unit 10. A science fair is based on research, data collection and demonstrating knowledge of an experiment. Tuesday was like a sporting event, except with science activities. 400 students from 17 area schools put their science skills to the ultimate test. "You can have every kind of science student participate. Those who like the book learning, and those who like the hands on," said Ravenna Chemistry Teacher Judy Strate. From egg drops to boomilevers to gravity vehicles, 6th graders through 12th graders were put to the test. How well can they apply what they've learned in class to real world activities? "You keep adding sand until you run out of sand or until the boomilever breaks." "The wings are curved like this so when the wind catches it, it gets, it goes up. These stop it too. They also feed wind into this, which pulls it up too." "So you have to have a breaking mechanism that can stop it almost exactly if possible. We did it by using a wing nut on a corkscrew, so when it hits the wood, the friction would stop it," said Alma junior Tyrell Howsden. Students were given guidelines ahead of time to prepare for each competition. "It's so fun to use what we've learned in school in a practical manner," Howsden said. Competition is fierce. Dedicated contenders don matching team t-shirts. Everyone's prepared to win. "I really like science and I think I'm pretty good at it, so this is just really fun," said Alma 7th grader Hallie Prickett. Up to 15 students represent each school, showing first hand what they know and how well they know it. "It says to me that science teachers are doing a great job of providing application of learning for their kids," said Bob Lungren, ESU 10. Ord Public Schools walked away with the win for the middle school category and Skutt Catholic High School in Omaha won the Senior High age group. Full Results: Div. B Schools (Grades 6-9) 1st Place: Ord Public Schools – 100 points 2nd Place: Alma Public Schools – 86 points 3rd Place: Paxton Public Schools – 82 points 4th Place: Arcadia Public Schools – 82 points 5th Place: St. Paul Public Schools – 75 points Div. C Schools (Grades 9-12) 1st Place: Skutt Catholic High School – Omaha – 96 points 2nd Place: Gothenburg High School – 93 points 3rd Place: Grand Island Northwest High School – 87 points 4th Place: Ogallala High School – 76 points 5th Place: Loup City High School – 74 points The competition isn't over yet. The state Olympiad will be held in Lincoln on April 20th. |
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