Idaho State University Announces Eastern Idaho Science Olympiad Winners

 Hawthorne Middle School’s team won first place at the Eastern Idaho ScienceOlympiad held Saturday, March 31 on the ISU campus.

Six teams of middle school students competed in the event, hosted by the ISU Department of Physics. Events featured home-made roller coasters, battery powered buggys, and wood towers.  Students competed in a forensics challenge, and tested their knowledge and experimental skills in five other funscience events.  

Alameda Middle School, Hawthorne Middle School and Holy Spirit Catholic School in Pocatello, and Sandcreek Middle School in Idaho Falls were represented. A team from Alameda Middle School earned second place, and the Holy Spirit Catholic School team earned third place. Winning teams were presented with trophies and a $150, $100 or $50 cash award to support science education courtesy Pocatello Kiwanis Club. Students earning first, second, and third place in each event were presented with gold, silver and bronze medals.  

 The Hawthorne team members were Hunter Bolt, Morgan Christensen, Alex Darrow, Keyton Harmon, Maxwell LeFevre, Alexis O'Hearn, Josie Packer, Emma Parsons, Ammon Ramirez, and Wendy Tomlinson.  Alameda team that placed second had members Avery Benson, Kaylob Hyde, Carter Jeppeson, Gavin Leishman, Grace Morrissey, Sam Morrissey, Sam Rhodehouse, Halie Seamons, Ryan Schultz, and Lauren Terry. The Holy Spirit team members were Paloma Austin, Jason Chapman, Leo Christenson, Mila Gabiola, Sarah Hiller, Aaron Herdt, John Kaiser, Athena Klos, Isona Lachwani, Grace Mickelson, Marco Milovanovic, and Eden Uris.  The Hawthorne Team was coached by Michael McFadden, all Alameda Middle School teams were coached by Deborah Henrie, the Holy Spirit Catholic School team was coached by Deb Reams, and the Sandcreek Middle School team was coached by Kim Williams and Scott Bradford.  

All teams are encouraged to compete in the state competition in Nampa on April 7.  The Idaho champion team will be invited to compete in the National Science Olympiad at Indiana University in May.  

The Science Olympiad is a national non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality ofscience education, increasing student interest in science, and providing recognition for outstanding achievement by both students and teachers.  The Olympiad was made possible by faculty and student volunteers from the ISU Physics, Geosciences, Biology, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, ComputerScience, and volunteer scientists and engineers from the Idaho National Laboratory.  More information on the Science Olympiad program is available at www.soinc.org.  For more information on the Eastern IdahoScience Olympiad, contact Dr. Steve Shropshire at shrostev@isu.edu, or 282-2212.