DECATUR — Young scientists from Decatur’s middle school participated in the Science Olympiad at the JonesCenter for Families in Springdale last month.

Fourteen fifth and sixth graders attended the event on April 20, and thirteen seventh and eighth graders participated on April 27. Students wereselected based on their enthusiasm and performance in Science class, according to gifted and talented teacher Andrea VanSandt.

Nine northwest Arkansas schools competed in the events. Decatur’s fifth and sixth grade team placed in seven events and the seventh and eighth grade team won third place in one event, VanSandt said.

Students showcased their skills in word trivia games such as hangman and science bowl as well as events that required them to build straw towers, bridges and other architecture to certain specifications. Other events, such as the egg drop and coffee can race, required students to make something ahead of time, according to VanSandt.

The pentathlon portion of the competition combined physical challenges with science trivia while events such as grab-a-gram and barge building required teams to estimate a given weight, she said.

“I am very proud of our teams. This was the first time some of these kids had even heard of the events and yet they jumped right in and did their very best and walked away winners against teams who have been participating in this competition for several years,” VanSandt said.

News, Pages 1 on 05/05/2010