65.0°,
A Few Clouds Great minds come together in Levittown
Middle school students participate in Science Olympiad competition
Nassau County’s brightest young scientists gathered in Levittown last Saturday for the middle school Science Olympiad regional competition. Teams from Wantagh, Seaford and Levittown took part in a wide variety of events, which tested students’ abilities in science, math, technology and engineering.
Hundreds of students from more than 20 schools spent the day at Wisdom Lane Middle School where they took exams, conducted experiments and tested objects they built ahead of time. Five of 42 teams advanced to the state tournament.
Salk Middle School sent three teams to the competition, totaling 45 students. Teacher Paul Zaratin, who advises the Science Olympiad club along with Douglas Neu and Keith Bauer, said the students spent about five months getting ready. “They’re very focused, very determined,” he said at the beginning of the day. “The amount of time they put in is kind of crazy.”
The teams placed 11th, 14th and 24th. The three teams totaled seven medals, with the No. 2 team placing first in the bottle rocket competition. The bottle rockets, which were built by students in advance, were launched from the north parking and traveled over snow-covered fields, Judging was based on total flight time. Jessica Tolve and Danielle Petzold built the winning rocket.
From Seaford Middle School, 37 students made the trip to Wisdom Lane, which included two teams of 15 and seven alternates. The teams placed 21st and 23rd, respectively, totaling three medals. Seaford participated in 23 events.
Adviser Roseann Zeblisky said students were confident entering the competition. “They put in a lot of effort,” she said, noting that much of their work was done at home.
Eighth-grader Sam Findeisen participated in three events, including Wheeled Vehicle in which she and her teammate designed a car that had to be launched using a pencil. She said the competition was a good learning experience, as she got to see how students from other teams built their vehicles.
Kristijan Barnjak and Sean Lochner built an elastic launch glider. They placed fifth. “We did pretty good, better than expected,” Barnjak said. “Everything had to be very precise.”
