A team of Brown County Junior High School science students is advancing to a state tournament in March after winning first place in the regional on Feb. 2.
Twenty-eight students from Brown County Intermediate School, BCJHS and Brown County High School competed in the regional Science Olympiad at Ivy Tech Bloomington. The junior high school team scored high enough to advance to the state contest on March 16 at Indiana University Bloomington.
This was the first time that BCIS and BCHS had taken teams to the Science Olympiad and only the second year that BCJHS had competed, said BCIS coach Mandy Austin.
BCJHS team members earned a medal in all 23 events and the team placed first in the B Division, said coach Erich Nolan.
Most students competed in teams of two. They had spent several weeks staying after school and studying in their chosen challenge categories.
Some of the challenges were given in written test format, but several were hands-on instead, and students didn’t have a lot of information about what exactly they would have to do. For instance, for “Mystery Architecture,” students were given items such as toothpicks, Post-It notes and straws and were told they had to build a bridge strong enough to hold up two cans of tomato paste.
Nolan said he pushed for Brown County to become involved in the Science Olympiad because of the educational challenges it provides.
“I thought that the competition could enhance science curriculum in the classroom and also expose students to science and engineering projects they might not have considered before. Having many events that cover many different types of challenges related to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) gives an opportunity for students to pursue many interests,” Nolan said in an email.
“The competition also gives Brown County schools a chance to show off our talented and hardworking students on a bigger stage,” he added.
The students from BCIS were among the youngest at the regional, competing in the middle school division against junior high and middle schools. Seven BCIS students earned medals.
BCHS competed in 12 of the 23 events and earned medals in four of them, placing seventh among eight teams, said coach Jim McFall.
The BCJHS team continues to practice after school in preparation for the state contest. Top teams from the state tournament can advance to the national tournament.
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Brown County Intermediate School
First: Alayna Jacobus and Phoebe Schultz in Write It/Do It
Second: Emmi Cody and Shawna Custard in Anatomy and Physiology
Second: Emmi Cody and Shawna Custard in Dynamic Planet
Second: Caleb Clifford and Alayna Jacobus in Solar System
Third: Jackson Daugherty and Owen East in Circuit Lab
Third: Jackson Daugherty and Owen East in Game On
Third: Caleb Clifford and Emmi Cody in Mystery Architecture
Members: Caleb Clifford, Emmi Cody, Shawna Custard, Jackson Daugherty, Owen East, Lily Haza, Aidan Henderson, Alayna Jacobus, Josh Redmon, Phoebe Schultz, Oliver Tedford, Genevieve Wilson, Mason Wolf.
Brown County Junior High School
First: Joey Denison and Braxton Winton in Battery Buggy
First: Cole Bowman and Zack Reed in Circuit Lab
First: Olivia Hawkins and Christopher Grimes in Density Lab
First: Will Hiatt and Madalyn Purlee in Dynamic Planet
First: Joey Denison and Braxton Winton in Elastic Launched Glider
First: Bradley Arndt and Joey Denison in Fossils
First: Cole Bowman and Conner Henderson in Game On
First: Clay Austin and Madalyn Purlee in Herpetology
First: Bradley Arndt and Cole Bowman in Meteorology
First: Bradley Arndt and Chase Austin in Road Scholar
First: Christopher Grimes and Zack Reed in Roller Coaster
First: Will Hiatt and Madalyn Purlee in Thermodynamics
Second: Conner Henderson and Braxton Winton in Crime Busters
Second: Olivia Hawkins and Conner Henderson in Disease Detectives
Second: Bradley Arndt, Chase Austin and Joey Denison in Experimental Design
Second: Clay Austin in Mystery Architecture
Second: Chase Austin and Christopher Grimes in Water Quality
Second: Clay Austin and Cole Bowman in Write It/Do It
Third: Olivia Hawkins and Conner Henderson in Anatomy and Physiology
Third: Bradley Arndt and Chase Austin in Boomilever
Third: Christopher Grimes and Madalyn Purlee in Heredity
Third: Olivia Hawkins and Braxton Winton in Potions and Poisons
Third: Will Hiatt and Braxton Winton in Solar System
Brown County High School
Second: Sara Fishel and Emma Summers in Anatomy and Physiology
Second: Kara Adams and Emma Summers in Forensics
Third: Kara Adams and Sara Fishel in Designer Genes
Third: Kara Adams and Allison Stogsdill in Experimental Design
Members: Kara Adams, Sara Fishel, Chloee Robison, Tristen Shields, Allison Stogsdill, Emma Summers, Kayley Vanderbok
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