24 Ann Arbor-area schools fill Pioneer High for 9th Science Olympiad
From left: Dicken elementary 3rd graders Simon Duncan, Jack Bajcz, Ben Egelhof and Jack Martin walk back with their water rocket after testing it during the Science Olympiad at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor.
Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com
But it wasn’t an athletic event that inspired more than 2,000 elementary school students and many of their parents to come to the building: It was the ninth Washtenaw County Science Olympiad, which has grown to include 24 schools from the county.
In the gymnasium, five Wines Elementary School third-graders were competing in the pentathlon, one of 16 events offered today.
Lucy Roberts chose to compete in the pentathlon because, “I like running,” she said. But first she had to answer the question ‘What does obese mean?’ “Very overweight,” Lucy correctly responded and then completed in one of the relay events.
“This is a great way for kids to experience science in a fun way and it teaches them aspects of science they might not know,” said Lucy’s mom, Arleen Song.
Parent Barbara Zimdars is the coach of Pattengill-Bryant Elementary Schools’s pentathlon team, which has spent many hours preparing for today’s competition by studying questions about health, fitness and nutrition.
“I like pentathlon because it’s thinking and running,” said Pattengil-Bryant third-grader Nixon Holley. “It’s better than just video games because you get to do stuff.”
Events at the Science Olympiad range from “A is for Anatomy,” where students identify parts and functions of the human body to building towers out of drinking straws.
Susan Beech, a third-grade teacher at Pattengil-Bryant, has been a board member for the Olympiad as well as a score keeper for the event and a coach at her school, where the Science Olympiad was first held in Washtenaw County.
“I’m blown away by what the Olympiad has become,” said Beech. “When the Olympiad started, there were only four to six schools involved. It takes us well beyond what we can do in the classroom and gets my students energized about science.”
Students who have participated in the Olympiad often come back to help coach and volunteer.
“I competed when I was young and it really got me interested in the different aspects of science,” said volunteer Shreya Menon, now a Clague Middle School student.
There were some outdoor events like the water rocket launch in which a 2-liter soda bottle has air pumped into it to pressurize it, and a chord is pulled to launch the makeshift rocket which is shot into the air, after which a parachute inflates so that it stays in the air as long as possible.
Third grade students from Dicken had the chance to learn about rocket physics when they built their rocket.
“We spent a lot of time working on this,” said student Jack Martin. “I like to compete.”
“I just like to have fun,” said teammate Jack Bajcz. “We call our rocket the ‘epic failure’ because it got scrunched.”
Dicken parent and coach John Janevic is one of 20 coaches from his school, which brought 79 students to the Olympiad, including his daughter, Sophia Janevic, a fifth-grader, who is in her fourth year of participating.
“She has done the rock hunting event all four years and loves this stuff, and now our summer vacations revolve around rocks,” said Janevic.
The biggest sponsor of the Science Olympiad is the Toyota Technical Center, which has offices in Ann Arbor and York Township. Bruce Amble, a chassis engineer at Toyota, says it’s a great start for getting kids interested in technological careers. Hideki Hada, general manager at the Toyota Technical Center, concurs.
“When I was a kid, I made a safety system for a car,” said Hada. “Now my kids are participating on Lawton’s (Elementary School) team. They’re learning by trial and error, and it’s not easy.”
The Washtenaw County Science Olympiad runs until 5 p.m. today.
Comments
G2inA2
Mon, Jun 13, 2011 : 11:47 p.m.
Saw the kids getting ready many, many days during lunch at Haisley. They really worked hard as did the parent volunteers who coached them!! WTG Haisley Huskies and parents!
Susan Beech
Sun, Jun 12, 2011 : 5:17 p.m.
The WESO (Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad) was quite a spectacular event this year with 24 teams competing. I was so glad to see new schools joining in the fun. The kids were so excited to participate in the activities. They were amazing with their dedication, determination and concentration during their competitive events. They all worked so hard to do their personal best. WESO is organized each year by VOLUNTEERS. I have had the privilege of being a member of the group keeping this event going each year: Susan Blackburn, Jane Levy, Nirmala Rajaram, Hedieh Briggs, Gilda Johnson, and Jeri Schneider have been on the WESO board for years. They were joined recently by Nancy Dean, Ann Nicklas and Zali Mustapha. These folks volunteer all year long organizing this huge event. Each school does their part as well, supplying coaches to teach the students about various science concepts, supervisors/judges for the competitions, and volunteers to assist at the event. High school students come to volunteer in the Open Events area, where they explain various scientific principles using easy experiments the children can explore. AAPS has been supportive from the beginning, allowing us to use their facilities each year. WESO is not just about the competition, but it is about having fun, learning about science, and sharing learning with your family.
Mike K
Sun, Jun 12, 2011 : 2:22 p.m.
Congratulations to all the participants, coach's and schools. It was hot at Pioneer, but these kids showed tremedous enthusiasm during the entire event. Everyone was a winner. This kind of event teaches valuable skills - competition, earned success, hard work - all which help foster personal responsibility for these children.
Paula Gardner
Sat, Jun 11, 2011 : 10:30 p.m.
Congrats to Sue Beech and everyone else who made this happen. Here's a list of participating schools: <a href="http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/wesowizards.home/participating_schools" rel='nofollow'>http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/wesowizards.home/participating_schools</a> This program is not in all Ann Arbor Public Schools. It also extends to several charter and private schools. If your school isn't on this list (like my own), it may be worth trying to put a team together!
KJMClark
Sat, Jun 11, 2011 : 8:17 p.m.
Science Olympiad is another great thing about Ann Arbor. I hope all the olympians had fun and learned a lot! Congratulations to everyone who competed.
Lilian
Sat, Jun 11, 2011 : 8:08 p.m.
Not only is it going strong, apparently AAAPS Science Olympiad is the largest in the nation! Attended the morning part of the event, and it was fun to watch. Despite the fact that only a few of the events are open to public viewing. Would have bee nice to watch more events.
Emma B
Sat, Jun 11, 2011 : 7:57 p.m.
I participated in Science Olympiad in middle school-- the egg drop was definitely my favorite event. It was a great experience to have, glad to hear it's still going strong as an event.
ChrisW
Sat, Jun 11, 2011 : 5:30 p.m.
The Science Olympiad is wonderful - possibly the best single thing the Ann Arbor School District does to promote science education. We did Puff Mobiles, Straw Towers, and Water Rockets in past years. The hands-on approach is so much more interesting than just listening to a lecture. Go Lawton! Unfortunately, in Middle School students can't take just one Olympiad subject and it's next to impossible to work it into their busy schedules, with soccer and music and everything.
Macabre Sunset
Sat, Jun 11, 2011 : 4:50 p.m.
That's great for the kids - nice to teach them that science can be fun. Small correction: Pattengill (note the spelling) and Bryant elementary schools (note the plural) combined to form one team - the schools are associated, but separate. The third-grader quoted would go to Pattengill (it's a 3-5 school) and a younger student would go to Bryant (K-2).