The MVHS science Olympiad team placed second overall at their competition Feb 22 at Mount Vernon Middle School. The team had a score of 69 being beat out only by Iowa City West Gold with a score of 60. As the season progresses the bright minds of our science Olympiad team are excited to showcase their skills at upcoming regional and state tournaments.

Throughout the season the team works on their individual events that are chosen at the start of the year. Each event requires understanding of different fields. For example, students may participate in the electric vehicle event in which they have to create a vehicle to follow a track and end on a specific target. Another example is the Tower event in which students must model and assemble a tower meeting a variety of requirements along with demonstrating high structural efficiency. The other side of the team participates in study based events in which a written test is taken.

Below we can see the results from their competition Feb 22 where they competed well against some bigger schools such as Xavier. These competitions are important to provide feedback for the students in order for them to modify their builds or to learn a different set of information.

Some other highlights of the competition were the electric vehicle and forensics event both earning a score of 1. The participants in the electric vehicle event are Issac Dausner and Eli Koster  the forensics event performed by Owen Francis  and Carrington Bybee they earned a score of one for the team

Throughout their practices the individuals refine their machines, buildings, and calculations in order to guarantee success.

“Since I do build events mainly I typically get ready building better and better iterations of the vehicle,” said Matthew Bradbury. “We often end up relying on simulations and math to get the calculations for the event.”  These preparation methods are widely used throughout the entire team as they produce accurate and specific results. These calculations greatly help the team to accurately predict the outcome of their builds and to make modifications when needed. Bradbury and his teammate Landon Grosse Placed 11th at nationals in the wheeled vehicle event.

As their season continues there are high hopes throughout the team and dreams of making it to state once again and bringing home a win for Mount Vernon in order to do this a win at sectionals is necessary. If they bring home a win from state they will have the opportunity to compete at nationals and showcase their talents to a wider audience.