Aspiring scientists prepare for Science Olympiad

When you enter Thompson Falls High School's science room or library after school now days you will witness 'science in action' as students work toward mastering various science challenges. Glue guns, tape dispensers and scissors are out, whiteboards are victims to squeaking markers, computers are spitting out information as fast as possible, and groups of two are focused on the subject at hand.

Montana's first Science Olympiad competition was held in 1985 when only 10 events were offered. Over the last 32 years there has been tremendous growth in interested and participation in the competition. Currently there are 23 events for students to choose from, which according to most Blue Hawk students made for an extremely hard decision.

Each event allows for a two-member team, only one high school or junior high team from Thompson Falls is assigned to each event, and each individual chooses two events. One of the two events will be physics/engineering based, while the other is research based. A very detailed description of the topic and expectations are given as guidelines to the young scientists.

Sixth graders Kael Brown and Theo Nygaard were hard at work Thursday afternoon building an airplane that was a requirement of their "Wright Stuff" event. The purpose of this task is to determine what team can construct an airplane that remains in flight the longest. According to Nygaard, "The plane has to weigh over 7 grams, have less than a 14 cm propeller size and a wing span less than 40 cm." These are just a few of the strict regulations students must follow. If they fail to follow them all, they will be disqualified or have points taken off their final score.

Students will be competing against other schools in their respective events. Points will be awarded to each group based on their performance and knowledge of each event. Thompson Falls earned first place in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The team is hopeful they can do it again in 2017.

This year's high school team members include Nathan Burwig, Kole Stone, Cody Williams, Haley Morgan, Justin Morgan, Wilson Sorensen, Eric Mendelez, Rachel Ribeiro, Maddie Kyllo, Lily Buchanan, Jolia Buchanan, Tyler McGaughey, Whitney Micklon, Megan Baxter, Jody Detlaff, Gabriella Pallister and Josey Neesvig.

Grades sixth through eighth teammates are Theo Nygaard, Kael Brown, Trinity Riffle, MacKenzie Robinson, Olivia Harnett, Anna Pallister, Ellie Baxter, Danielle Hodges, Marcella Hodges, and Hattie Neesvig.

Sarah Naegeli remembers her first year as a Science Olympiad leader. That was 15 years ago, the same year when Jase Miller first participated as a student. Now they both are leading the 2017 team of aspiring scientists.