Students go for gold at Olympiad
Bob Shiles, staff writer
©Kinston Free Press

High school and middle school students from a nine-county region tested their science knowledge, creativity and imagination Saturday during a regional Science Olympiad held on the campus of Lenoir County Community College.

"This is a lot of fun," said Melissa Goodrich, a seventh-grader from the H. J. McDonald Middle School in New Bern. "It's a good learning process."

Teams of students from eight high schools and 15 middle schools took part in the competitive events that tested their knowledge of earth sciences, biology, chemistry, physics and engineering. Building and designing bridges, launching bottle rockets, designing planes of balsa wood powered by a single rubber band, and putting together a device that uses simple machines to raise an object, were some of the challenges put before the students.

This year, only three Lenoir County schools entered teams in the competition. They were Kinston High School, E.B. Frink Middle School in La Grange, and the Arendell Parrott Academy.

For E.B. Frink students LeTian Dong and Garrett Scott, the event Mission Possible was a real challenge. They had to build a device that used up to 24 simple machines, such as pulleys, levers, screws or wedges, to raise a small model car.

"We have been working on this since November, " Dong said. "We have been building it using a lot of creativity."

Bert Bright, coordinator of the Olympiad program at Arendell Parrott Academy, described the Olympiad as a wonderful event for students. It motivates and challenges students to do their best, he said.

"They want to do the best they can and see how they stack up against others," the coordinator added.

Participation in Science Olympiads grow each year, Philip Dail, state director for the program, said. currently, about 300 schools statewide take part.

"The strength of the Science Olympiad is the diversity of student types that are attracted to it,' Dail said. "It is a team-based activity that is the academic mirror image of athletics."

This is the fourth year that Lenoir County Community College has hosted the Region 10 Olympiad, said Richy Huneycutt, the college's director of marketing and recruiting and Olympiad co-director.

"It's exciting to watch the enthusiasm of these students," she said. "The kids really enjoy the event. They scream and yell just like at a sports event."

LaTonya Humphrey, who represented H.J. McDonald Middle School, said that to be successful in the Olympiad students have to have a love for science, imagination, and lots of creativity. Her team mates agreed.

"This is also a fun way to make new friends," Melissa Goodrich added.

Winners of Saturday's Olympiad will move to the state finals on April 16 at N.C. State University.

Bob Shiles can be reached at (252) 527-3191, Ext. 237, or bshiles@freedomenc.com.