Youthful ‘scientists’ compete in 28th annual olympiad

Warwick Beacon ·

Pilgrim High School junior Vanessa Streb was one of 700 students representing 48 schools at the state’s 28th annual Science Olympiad held Saturday at Rhode Island College. “I’ve always been interested, it’s kind of in my blood,” says the daughter of an electrical engineer and former chemist. Participating in her third Olympiad, Streb speaks highly of

her experience over the years.

“Science Olympiad is a great learning experience, and I can take what I learned this year and add it to next year when I compete again. It’s not always about winning, it’s about having fun with something you enjoy to do.”

Developed 33 years ago with the hopes of expanding an interest in science while allowing students to learn the scientific process through hands-on activities, the Olympiad is “like a track meet,” says Stephen Scappaticci, the Science Program Supervisor for Cranston. “Kids compete and get recognized for achievements, but also compete for a team.” With two divisions, one for middle school and the other for high school, students and teams have a wide array of activities to choose from. Some of the categories spanning both divisions include Anatomy & Physiology, Crime Busters/Forensics, Disease Detectives, Ecology, Invasive Species and Wind Power. Both divisions had a minimum of 20 categories, allowing students to explore areas of science they may have been curious about.

Teams are limited to 15 students and those who have hopes of participating in the event, are encouraged to express interest to their science teachers. Working his 21st year at the event, Cranston East Science Olympiad Advisor Howard Chun, whose team contains 14 members, says, “Students generally compete in 2-3 events, usually by interest area.” He also looks for students who have a specialty and tries to get appropriate resources for all participants. Many students come back every year to be on his team. Three of his students, freshman Sonny Vo, and seniors Eli Hill and Ashley Paquin, competed together in the Helicopter category. They devised a helicopter propeller using fibers, a wooden T, and Saran Wrap, which was powered by a rubber band in hopes of trying to get the longest amount of air time possible. “It’s a great stepping stone because it’s learning what you want to learn instead of just for a grade,” says Ashley, who competed for the first time. Fellow student Eli Hill, in his 4th Olympiad, also competed in the Forensics category. A crime scene is described to the students, who then must conduct an investigation at different stations set up for them.

Included among these are testing fibers, identifying powders, identifying chemicals via IR Spec, fingerprinting, and analyzing various other pieces of evidence.

At Bain Middle School, Science Teacher Michael Romero led a team of 10 students.

Two members of his team, eighth-graders David Quevedo and Ivan Abreu, both 13, were participating in Mission Possible, where they explored the concepts of potential and kinetic energy. Their homemade device, an inspiration from last year’s design, begins with shooting a golf ball forward, sending it through somewhat of a maze with an end result in mind. “The main objective is to get the flag to be raised off that one action, so it’s like a domino effect,” says David. “The energy transfers from potential to kinetic.” When speaking of what influenced his interest in science and participating in the Olympiad, his teammate Ivan gives credit to the subject’s never ending opportunity to gain knowledge. “What motivated me into science wasn’t a particular person, but the field in general. The thought that no matter how many people pass by, there’s always something else to discover,” he stated. Both students have participated in past Olympiads, and will be able to move on to the high school division next year.

Barry Gilbert, a retired physics professor at the college, started the state’s Olympiad in 1990. It was held at Lincoln High School its first year, and has been at Rhode Island College ever since. He says that the state does OK in Nationals but some states, such as North Carolina, have coaches for each event, as opposed to one coach for the entire team. He also said that for the first time, Rhode Island College is giving $1,000 scholarships to gold medal winners of the state competition. Schools wanting to compete in the state competition must raise their own funds, and the same is true for winners advancing to national competition. Support has come to the Olympiad via a grant from the RI Chapter of the American Chemical Society, as well as a Rhode Island Space grant.

The Science Olympiad is an annual event held in all 50 states, with winners advancing to Nationals. In both state and national competitions, winning teams earn trophies, while winners of individual events earn medals. Top winners at national competitions are also awarded substantial scholarships. National competition will be held May 19-20 at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

The Barrington team was the winner in the high school division followed by Smithfield and Portsmouth that placed second and third respectively. In the middle school division, Gallagher Middle School from Smithfield placed first followed by Barrington and Wickford.