How can a three-cell battery be constructed out of lemons, or a cantilever arm be built out of tape and spaghetti to support a Styrofoam cup off the edge of a table?
Grade 7 to 12 students learned how at Central Alberta’s 2012 APEGGA Science Olympics held at Westpark Middle School on Saturday.
“The whole idea is to get them to do something, not something they’ve read up on in school books, but a problem on the spur of the moment,” said Bruce Thorne, chair of the Science Olympics planning committee, about the event that attracted 26 teams, each with about four students.
Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists of Alberta organizes and sponsors the event to show how the principles of science touches every aspect of living and to inspire students’ creativity and problem-solving.
Thorne said the Science Olympics also teaches students to work as a team, just like working scientists at the National Research Council.
Sonny Nagra, a chemical engineer at MEglobal and volunteer at the olympics, said he was impressed by the students’ work.
“You don’t get the same design from each team. You get different thoughts, different ideas,” said Nagra, of Red Deer.
“It’s pretty neat seeing some of the way kids get over the obstacles to finish the challenges.”
Science teacher Sarah Steinbach, from H. J. Cody School in Sylvan Lake, said the event forces students to think outside the box.
“Maybe this is the first time they’ve had to build a vehicle powered by a balloon,” said Steinbach who attended with three H. J. Cody teams.
“It’s a really great way to get a whole day of hands-on, lab-style learning. This is a way to get them hooked into science.”
Parent Heidi Lee said kids explore science and engineering because of programs like Science Olympics.
“I like it. I think it’s good. My daughter came quite a few years ago and there’s way more participants than the year she came.
“That’s great,” said Lee, whose son Michael, a Grade 12 student at Lacombe Composite High School, was competing.
“I like watching them think it out.”
szielinski@www.reddeeradvocate.com