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Hard Work Pays Off for Science Students: State College Teams Advance to State Level of Olympiad Contest

Posted on: Sunday, 19 March 2006, 06:00 CST

By Ivonne D'Amato, The Centre Daily Times, State College, Pa.

Mar. 19--STATE COLLEGE -- More than 600 students from 39 central Pennsylvania schools packed the State College Area High School's North Building on Saturday for the 22nd annual Central Region Science Olympiad.

The tournament tested contestants' knowledge of science and its application through 39 events -- from building and operating trebuchets, rubber band-propelled airplanes, simple machines and robots to chemistry and physics labs.

"The idea is for kids not to memorize science but apply it," said David Klindienst, State College Area's science coordinator and the regional Olympiad director.

Of the 39 middle and high schools represented at the event, local teams from Penns Valley Area and State College Area competed.

Saturday marked the fourth year that Elly Engle, a Penns Valley sophomore, competed in the Olympiad. She said she competed in several events Saturday and was confident the last event, the chemistry lab, went well.

"We feel good about some of our competitions," Engle said. "The Olympiad is great. It's a place where you can be a science geek and no one will care."

The team from Park Forest Middle School advanced Saturday to the state competition April 28 at Juniata College.

The 14-member team took second place in its division, thanks to the months of preparation time put in, said team coach and seventh-grade science teacher Steve McAninch.

"We started in September to prepare, twice a week for a couple of hours," McAninch said.

"All for one day -- and that is really phenomenal."

The State High team also will advance to the next round, having taken first place in its division.

"It gets crazy. I am surprised by the dedication of these kids," team coach and science teacher Jack Lyke said.

"Each one is involved in at least three other groups, and with everything else they do, it's amazing they do as well as they do."

At the state competition, 60 teams will compete for a spot at the national competition in May at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.

Ivonne D'Amato can be reached at 231-4619.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Centre Daily Times, State College, Pa.

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Source: Centre Daily Times (State College, Pa.)

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