For the past 26
years, Science Olympiad has led a revolution in science education. What began as
a grassroots assembly of science teachers is now one of the premiere
science
competitions in the nation, providing rigorous, standards-based challenges to
more than 5,300 teams in 48 states. Science Olympiad's ever-changing event
lineup -
ranging from Disease Detectives to Electric Vehicle to Bio-Process Lab -
provides a buffet of career choices and exposure to practicing scientists and
mentors.
Congratulations to
Middletown High School who captured 8th place overall in Delaware's Science
Olympiad High School Competition on Saturday March 7. It was an
exciting
day! The team placed in 14 out of 24 events (see below), bringing home a total
of 28 medals in only their second year of competition. In fact, MHS was one of
only two
public schools to place in the top 10 this year. That's not all the good news.
Appoquinimink High, competing for the first time ever, placing a respectable
39th in a strong field. Middle School Science Olympiad Teams will compete on
April 4, at Delaware State University.
Team Scores:
1st - Charter (33) 86 pts
2nd
- Charter (34) 188 pts
3rd - St.Mark's(6) 344 pts
4th - TIE - Cab
Calloway (38) 349 pts; Dover (53) 349 pts
6th - Friends (29) 371 pts
7th
- Delmarva Christian (21) 386 pts
8th -
Middletown (23) 391 pts - 2nd year competing
9th - Cab
Calloway (37) 402 pts
10th - Archmere (11) 403 pts
39th overall - Appoquinimink HS - 1st year
competing
Middletown High Event
Winners:
Astronomy-1st
place-James Lin, Lauren Sanchez
Teams identify deep sky
objects and solve astronomy problems.
Disease Detective-2nd
place-Jake Degler, Charlotte Lin
Students apply
principles of epidemiology to a published report of a real-life health situation
or problem.
Dynamic
Planet-8th place-Jake Degler, Bharathwaj Nandagopal
Teams are tested
on a variety of earth science topics primarily dealing with earthquakes and
volcanoes.
Ecology-2nd place-Jake
Degler, Charlotte Lin
Students answer
questions involving content knowledge and process skills in the area of ecology
and adaptation by examining different ecosystems.
Electric
Vehicle-3rd place-Justin Koch
Students construct a vehicle that
uses electrical energy as its sole mean of propulsion.
Elevated
Bridge-9th place-Harrison Kim, Joey Malloy
Teams must design, build &
test the lightest bridge to carry a maximum load.
Environmental
Chemistry-6th place-Michael Cannon, Talha Bhatti
Teams answer questions
pertaining to environmental chemistry, including: chemical reactions,
characterization, and quantification.
Egg-O-Naut-9th place-Michael Cannon, Talha Bhatti
Teams design, construct
and launch rockets to stay aloft and carry a raw egg without breaking.
Fossils-6th
place-Charlotte Lin, Bharathwaj Nandagopal
Students identify, describe,
and classify various specimens.
Herpetology-2nd
place-Jake Degler, Charlotte Lin
Teams test their knowledge of amphibians,
turtles, crocodiles and reptiles.
Its About
Time-2nd place-James Lin, Justin
Koch
Using a pre-constructed
non-electronic device, students measure time in intervals.
Junkyard
Challenge-10th place-Justin Koch, Harrison Kim
Students will partially
pre-construct a device with final construction and adaptation onsite to complete
a published challenge.
Protein
Modeling-1st place-Charlotte
Lin, James Lin
Students will use computer visualization and online
resources to guide them in constructing a physical model of a protein. The 2009
theme for the proteins to be modeled is
Ribonucleases.
Remote
Sensing-7th place-Michael Cannon, James Lin
Teams use maps and remote
sensing technology to explain human impact on the
Earth.
Appoquinimink High Event Winners:
Write It
Do It - 6th place - Shelby Switzer and Carissa Silva
A technical
writing exercise requiring students to write a description of a contraption that
other students attempt to recreate using only the written
description.
MHS Team
members Charlotte Linn , James Linn, and Jake Degler also performed in the High
School Musical Copacabana that night. We have well rounded
students!
SCIENCE OLYMPIAD ADVISORS:
Middletown
High
Ms. Sandra Petrucci Porto
State Science Olympiad Advisor
Study Skills Specialist 6-12th grades
Appoquinimink High
Tawanda Bond
Science Olympiad
Advisor
Science Teacher/Science Department Chair
History of
the National Event - Delaware plays influential role
Science
Olympiad began when Dr. Gerard J. Putz, Regional Science Consultant for Macomb
County Intermediate School District in Michigan, invited John C. "Jack"
Cairns,
State Science Supervisor for Delaware Department of Instruction, to share the
Science Olympiad program with Macomb County educators on March 29, 1982. The
invitation
was prompted by an article on the Delaware Science Olympiad (The Science
Teacher, December 1977) written by Douglas Macbeth, past Delaware State
Science
Supervisor, that was brought to Dr. Putz's attention by Michigan Science
Teachers Association President David Larwa. The Delaware Science Olympiad was
patterned
after similar events in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. After two successful
workshops at the Macomb Intermediate School District (March 1982) and the Edsel
and Eleanor
Ford Estate (January 1983), science education leaders in Southeastern Michigan
planned two very successful tournaments at Lawrence Institute of
Technology
(April 1983) and Oakland University (May 1984).
