Eyes on the science prize

Published 9:00 pm Monday, April 24, 2006

BOTHELL – A map of Indiana is pasted inside the doorway of science teacher Sheila Guard’s classroom, a big red arrow pointing to Bloomington and announcing, “Here We Come!”

Beyond the threshold, dozens of students hunch over lab tables to work with such sundries as balsa wood, pumice, Lego blocks and pulleys.

Elizabeth Armstrong / The Herald Russell Kilgannon, 14, an eighth-grader at Canyon Park Junior High School in Bothell, studies his engineering and physics project last week. The small bridge he built in preparation for the National Science Olympiad Tournament must be lightweight but capable of supporting about 33 pounds.

The Canyon Park Junior High School students are preparing for their school’s first-ever trip to the National Science Olympiad Tournament after winning the state competition for the first time and earning medals in 19 of 23 events.

“We’re pulling out all the stops to do well at nationals,” Guard said.

The school, which has 875 seventh- through ninth-graders, has fielded teams for about 15 years. It has placed second at state several times.

“Because we’re a fairly small school, to be able to work hard to get there, it’s really rewarding,” said eighth-grader Russell Kilgannon, 14.

Science Olympiad, an Illinois-based nonprofit, aims to promote students’ interest in science and improve the quality of science education.

Competitive events include building catapults, launching model rockets, identifying insects and rocks, and conducting fingerprint analysis in a mock forensics crime lab.

More than 1,800 students from 120 middle and high schools will compete May 19 and 20 at the national tournament, hosted by Indiana University.

The 15 members of Canyon Park’s “blue team,” along with four alternates from the school’s 10th-place state “gold team,” are raising money for the trip.

Grace Christensen, 12, a seventh-grader, is excited. “I know that I need to work hard. But I’m also really glad that I’m just going to be able to go.”

Others are still getting used to the idea.

“I never really thought past (the state competition to) nationals before, because I didn’t want to get my hopes up,” said eighth-grader Mollie Holmberg, 14.

Guard said parents have been supportive.

During a recent practice, several fathers – including her own dad, Terry Mattson, a retired Boeing engineer – were on hand.

Pat Kilgannon uses his background as a research scientist to help his son, Russell, and other students with food science, heredity and other biology-focused events.

Still, adults are largely hands off. “(Students) do almost all of it by themselves,” Kilgannon said.

Ricky Boice, 15, said he worked at home for many hours, researching levers, pulleys and other simple machines for an initial design of the team’s Rube Goldberg-style contraption, in which a dropped tennis ball triggers a series of events that end in an unfurled roll of toilet paper.

First-year competitor Sam Berkman, 15, a freshman, said he loves being part of the team.

“Originally, I just kind of started because I was thinking I needed more extracurriculars for college (applications). Then I started having fun, and now it’s more of a hobby,” he said.

Julia Gabriels, 12, said the program uncovered an unexpected passion: blasting off bottle rockets.

“Science is just an amazing topic. There’s so much that draws me in. I want to learn more and more about everything,” the seventh-grader said.

Abby Sloan and Allen Zhang, both 14, placed first at state for a meteorology event.

“Medals can make you feel really good about yourself and that you’ve achieved a lot,” said Allen, a freshman.

Abby, an eighth-grader, said they’re taking that drive with them to Indiana.

“That’s our goal,” she said, “to get a medal and be able to say we’re one of the best in the nation.”

Reporter Melissa Slager: 425-339-3465 or mslager@heraldnet.com.