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Harlowton students get hands-on experience at Montana Science Olympiad
November 25, 2008 -- By Michael Becker, MSU News Service
Bozeman -- Caleb Dick's desire to join his high school's Science Olympiad team was, in part, based on how much destruction he could cause with a two-foot-tall balsa wood trebuchet.
"I've always liked catapults and trebuchets because of 'The Lord of the Rings' and other movies like that," said Dick, a junior at Harlowton High School. "But the destructive power had an effect on me too."
Dick was one of 14 students from Harlowton who visited MSU to compete in the 24th annual Science Olympiad on Tuesday. The daylong competition featured 15 science-related events for Montana junior high and high school students. The Olympiad drew about 900 students from more than 30 schools to MSU.
About 120 students, staff and faculty from departments across campus helped put on the tournament, acting as scorers and judges for the events, which were held in five buildings across campus.
Dick's event, Trajectory, required participants to build a device to launch an object -- such as a ping pong ball, bean bag or tennis ball -- at a target on the floor a few yards away. The teams were judged on their accuracy and their ability to follow the design guidelines.
"We found a pretty simple model on the Internet and built ours based on that," said Dick, 17, of his team's trebuchet. While its destructive power might not have been quite up to 'Lord of the Rings' standards, Dick was still proud of the device, which he and teammate Laticia Hofland built and tested over the course of a few weeks.
"We thought the event looked very interesting," said Hofland, 16. "It was a chance to build something that would actually go somewhere and do something," as opposed to work done just in the classroom.
Hofland, a junior who moved to Harlowton a year ago, said the Olympiad is a great opportunity to take part in a team activity that wasn't necessarily related to sports.
"I've tried sports before, and it's not my thing," she said. "But that doesn't mean I don't like being on a team."
Dick, who also plays on his school's football, basketball and track teams, appreciated the teamwork that went into the Olympiad and agreed that the competition was a great chance to actually see science in action.
"It gives you knowledge about how things work," he said. "You're able to do more than just read it. You can actually see it in action."
The Science Olympiad began at a national level 25 years ago, and MSU has hosted Montana's tournament for the past 24 years, said state coordinator Lisa Daly, who works at MSU's Science Math Resource Center.
Winners at the state level have the chance to attend the national tournament, which will be held in Augusta, Ga., in May.
The Olympiad was originally conceived as a way to give students a chance to compete and be recognized for more than just their athletic prowess, Daly said. In addition to recognizing science skills, the Olympiad also promotes science education around Montana.
"Plus it's a recruiting opportunity," Daly said. "It brings around 900 students to campus where they get to see what it's like to be an MSU student for a day."
This is only the second Olympiad that Harlowton has attended, said the team's coach Justin Helvik, who teaches physics, chemistry, biology and environmental science.
Helvik said teaching in a rural school like Harlowton has its challenges, such as pulling together all the resources and supplies the classroom needs, but the smaller class sizes compensate for part of that.
The Olympiad at MSU provides part of the hands-on, inquiry-based work that many Montana students might not be able to get in their schools' science classrooms.
"It's a great opportunity for kids from across the state to come to one location and compete and learn new ideas," Helvik said. "I'm looking for our students to get some hands-on experience and a chance to compete and learn."
Contact: Lisa Daly, (406)-994-7606, dalylisa@montana.edu
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