By Briana Bizier
On a blustery Saturday in late March, a team of Windham
High School students traveled to the University of Southern Maine’s Gorham
campus to compete with mousetraps, calculators, and batteries. Maine’s annual
Science Olympiad competition, which dates back to 1986, brings together teams
of students from middle and high schools across the state.
“There’s
no other competition like it,” explained Pamela Ferris-Olson, one of the two directors of the 2019 Maine Science
Olympiad. “The events run across all STEM disciplines, from the build
competitions to biology to physics. At least two students compete in every
event, so kids learn how important it is to cooperate. The students win on the
strength of their team.”
Maine
Science Olympiad’s events range from tests on subjects as far-ranging as
herpetology and forensics, which are written, administered, and graded by a
group of dedicated volunteers who follow national standards, to “build”
competitions where students design and construct something beforehand which is
then tested and evaluated by volunteers on the University of Maine campus. The
entire event is a celebration of math, science, and engineering. Windham High
School’s team T-shirts poked fun at popular perceptions of science by using the
symbols for nitrogen, erbium, and dysprosium from the Periodic Table of the
Elements to spell out: NErDy.
“We
have 23 events covered by 15 kids,” explained Daniel Wirtz, one of the two
teachers who serve as coaches for the Windham High School team. “So, our team
has to have a wide range of knowledgeand experience.”
For
the build events, Wirtz said, students are required to bring their completed
machines as well as their test and run logs to the competition. As we spoke,
the Mousetrap Car competition ran in the background. For this event, high
school students constructed a vehicle powered entirely by the snap of two
mousetrap springs. To compete, the mousetrap car needed to push a cup eight
meters, then stop, and then travel in reverse.
Another
popular build event is called Mission Possible, where students construct a
complex Rube Goldberg machine in order to accomplish a simple task. This year,
the task was lifting a nine-volt battery. Extra points were awarded to students
whose machines included details like using vinegar
and baking soda to inflate a
balloon, filling a container with water in order to lift a golf ball, or using
electricity to break a string.
My
young assistants and I watched the Windham High School team set up and run
their Mission Possible machine. As we waited, the volunteer judges examined the
machine carefully and asked a few questions about the batteries.
“Those
batteries are hooked up in parallel,” Windham High School student Evan Desmond explained, “so the
voltage doesn’t add, it’s just the amperage.”
Clearly,
these Windham High School students already know much more about electricity and
batteries than this reporter!
 |
| The Mousetrap car that won second place. |
After
a few last-minute adjustments, Desmond and fellow student, Cordelia
Inman put their Mission Possible machine into action. A water balloon inflated,
balls rolled down ramps, a string snapped, and finally a little engine whirred
into action, slowly raising a wooden platform holding the single nine-volt
battery.
“I
want to see it again!” my four-year-old assistant declared. I promised him that,
if he works hard enough in school, he could one day be on the Windham High
School Science Olympiad team.
The
Windham students’ dedication and hard work paid off during the Science
Olympiad award ceremony. Students Annika Johnson and Landon Leclerc took a gold medal for first
place in the Anatomy competition. Haley Froisland and Joshua Mora took silver,
second place, for their Mouse Trap Car, and Desmond’s and Inman’s battery-lifting Mission Possible machine won
third place. \
Students Owen Flibert
and Kiril Perederil also took third place in the Forensics competition.
The
Windham High School team is generously sponsored by State Farm Insurance in
Windham, thanks to Tricia
Zwirner. The Windham team thanks you for your continued support of math,
science,
and engineering!
and engineering!
