Science Rules

BY CAROLYN LUCAS-ZENK

WEST HAWAII TODAY

clucas-zenk@westhawaiitoday.com

Pressure was something 17-year-old senior Makayla Awa thought about while preparing for the Hawaii Island Regional Science Olympiad at Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo.

Awa said she pressured herself because she wanted to do well at the weekend tournament of fields relating to science, technology, engineering and math — STEM.

The project her team faced, to build a tower that would withstand pressure. Awa and her peers built and tested five prototype towers in Patti Stover’s Konawaena High School classroom. They prepared for the weekend contest, but going in, she still was uncertain their tower would handle the required weight.

Konawaena High was one of 15 isle middle and high schools that competed in the tournament. The other West Hawaii participants were Ka’u High School and West Hawaii Explorations Public Charter School.

The top three Big Island schools qualified to compete in the annual state tournament on March 3 at Leeward Community College in Honolulu to battle top teams statewide for a chance to compete at the national tournament. One high and one middle school will go to the May Science Olympiad at the University of Central Florida, said Franklin Allaire, Science Olympiad Hawaii state director.

Science Olympiad requires preparation, commitment, coaching and practice throughout the year. Teams are allowed 15 students who cross-train for a variety of events in their skill set. Tournament topics include astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, genetics, medicine and rocketry. The activities are project-based, with a focus of real-world STEM application, and students work in pairs, Allaire said.

Preparing for competitions like this one has helped Awa determine what she wants to study in college. Her love of chemistry has led her to pharmacology.

Tournament spectators had the opportunity to watch two events: tower building and mousetrap vehicles.

Prior to the tournament, high school teams were given certain parameters of length, width, height and material, which they used to design and build the lightest tower they could to carry a maximum range load. The teams placed their towers on a testing platform, then loaded sand into a bucket suspended and supported by the tower. The tower was loaded until it either broke or reached the required 15 kilograms, Allaire said.

In the other event, middle school teams designed, built and tested their vehicle, which used a mousetrap as the sole means of propulsion to reach a target as quickly, accurately and close to their predicted time as possible, Allaire said.

“STEM jobs are the future. So, it’s important all our youth have the opportunities and resources necessary to participate in STEM education and be able to compete for the jobs of the future,” Allaire said. “Even if they don’t go into these careers, it’s also important that we have a science literate society. These students will one day be voting on science-related matters, like supporting wind or solar power initiatives, and it’s important they have this STEM education to make an educated decision.”

Stover, who teaches chemistry and physics at Konawaena, said, “I just want these kids to do their best and realize that you don’t have to be a genius or be super passionate to do science.”

Terry Walton, 15, called the Science Olympiad “a good experience. I already have a big imagination and events like this make it greater,” he said.

To learn more, visit hsso.org.