by Nathan Boddy
Science Olympiad is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of science education for students K-12th grade. Its mission is, “to host exciting competitive tournaments and professional development workshops that showcase innovative STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) content to students and teachers throughout the United States.” Those competitive events are something akin to an academic track meet. Student teams of 15 individuals can compete in 23 different events, which “reflect the ever-changing nature of genetics, earth science, chemistry, anatomy, physics, geology, mechanical engineering and technology.”
Haven Oshell and Sierra Berry took first place in the Bungee Drop competition at this year’s Science Olympiad tournament at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Photo courtesy of Vanessa Haflich.
This year, Hamilton High School students Sierra Berry and Haven Oshell raised the bar for area students by placing first in the Bungee Drop competition at the 41st Annual Science Olympiad National Tournament. The event was hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and billed itself as, “The highest level of science competition for middle and high schools across the nation.”
The HHS Science Olympiad Team. Photo courtesy of Vanessa Haflich.
Hamilton physical science and physics teacher, Vanessa Haflich, was very pleased with the results of the event, describing Berry and Oshell’s score as, “near perfect.” The top place finish put Berry and Oshell above 59 other teams. (The 10 most populous states send two teams each to the national competition.) Their top place finish is the first time in Montana history that a Montana team has taken a first place finish at the National Science Olympiad.
To perform successfully in the Bungee Drop competition, students need to have a thorough grasp of math and physics in order to calculate how much an object will extend a bungee or similar material when dropped from a particular height. Competitors enter the competition without knowing the mass/weight of the object they’ll be required to use, nor the height from which it will drop. Their goal is to calculate how much of the bungee should be used in order to successfully drop the item so that it comes close to— but doesn’t impact with— a truth-telling bed of sand. A high speed camera scrutinizes the gap for measurement.
“Both of our drops were one centimeter off,” said Oshell, meaning that their weight fell from 6.68 meters to within one centimeter of the bed of sand before retracting. The pair repeated their success from a height of 8.3 meters with the same result. Even the supervisor had to review the film several times to confirm the incredibly precise drop; all the while Berry and Oshell anxiously awaited the results from the balcony above.
“It was pretty exciting,” said Haflich, explaining that she, the other coaches and the MMS team were all below watching the event unfold. “We were cheering pretty loudly for them.”
The success of HHS is notable in many regards. The team is obligated to fund raise for their participation in the national competition, and the Montana Science Olympiad only runs 15 of the events. Prior to their arrival at Nationals, the team has to scramble to prepare for the other eight.
“We go into nationals not having any prep or background in eight of the events,” said Haflich, “which makes it really hard to be competitive as a team at nationals.” Still, the HHS team was able to compete in all but one national event.