Record finish for Worland Science Olympiad

Coach Karen Grzybowski, a science teacher at Worland High School, was happy to share that her Science Olympiad team was able to place at the competition for the first time since the first competition she coached in 2016.

The Science Olympiad, held on April 1 at the Casper College campus, is a competition where science-minded high school students compete in various events against students from across Wyoming, putting their comprehension and applications of science on display.

Grzybowski took a team of 12 students to the competition - Ira Croft, Noah Mitchell, Scottie Thomas, Milo Grzybowski, Rosslyn Rutledge, Ivan Thomas, Dawson Utterback, Zach Nomura, Cadyn Ramirez, Canton Green, Xander Smart and Jackson Richard. These students took home medals in every one of the eight events they participated in.

CHAMPIONS

Milo Grzybowski and Rosslyn Rutledge took first place in the Scrambler Car competition for their vehicle's performance. The two designed and created a wooden car propelled by a spring mechanism and fit with a breaking system. The car they took to the competition had to be able to travel an adjustable distance toward a wall with an egg mounted on the front. The idea was to be able to reach the wall and stop the car's momentum without breaking the egg.

Both freshmen, these students plan to continue the competition throughout high school and try to maintain their title. They said that the competition was a great experience and they really enjoyed meeting people and seeing all the different car designs.

Ira Croft, Noah Mitchell and Scottie Thomas took first place in Experimental Design for their experiment on the surface tension of water. These three are all juniors who have participated in the event all three years of high school, and plan to return their senior year. They enjoy the spontaneity of the event and having to come up with solutions on the fly.

Zach Nomura and Cadyn Ramirez were able to take second place in the Fermi Questions event. This event tested their ability to make educated guesses on quantities that are difficult to measure. They prepared for the event by doing practice problems online. Both juniors, the two said that they enjoyed the event and plan to participate in it again next year to try for first place.

Noah Mitchell, Ivan Thomas and Dawson Utterback took second place in the Code Busters event. This event entails decoding encrypted messages.

Canton Green and Cadyn Ramirez took second place in the Bridges competition. They designed and built a model bridge and tested its structural integrity up against other competitors' bridges.

Ivan Thomas and Scottie Thomas took third place in the It's About Time event. This event tasks competitors to build a time-keeping device, and they put their device to the test by measuring its accuracy.

Xander Smart and Dawson Utterback got third place in the Forestry event. This event tests students' knowledge of trees found in the United States.

Canton Green and Jackson Richard took third place in the Trajectory event. This event challenged students to design, construct and calibrate a device that launches a projectile at a target, and is capable of adjustable distances.