WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Students around the region have been studying, building, and honing their stem skills for the past few months to show them off in the only Science Olympiad Tournament in the northeastern Pennsylvania region.
Students showcased air trajectory, flight, and even roller coaster building while others, like Kaeleen Vanvliete from Wilkes-Barre Academy, built a car.
"We had to do a lot of experimenting with the car, just like making a lot of changes to make it go the distance we wanted and all that, and then we just prepared for the tests, really," said Vanvliete.
"The car, we had to do a lot. We had to build everything, do a million tests. That one, it was really tricky, but we already did our run, and it went really well, so we're really happy with that," said Olivia Langdon, another student from Wilkes-Barre Academy.
Other students got to demonstrate their mastery through written or computerized tests.
Emaan Ahmad felt confident coming back this year with the knowledge she gained from the tournament last year.
"I liked learning about Biology. That's why I did Micromission. Forestry I did last year, and we medaled in that, and Disease Detectives was something new that I wanted to do because I wanted to try something different," said Emaan Ahmad, a student at Wilkes-Barre Academy.
Marie Popielarz, a senior in high school, has been competing in the Science Olympiad Tournaments since she was in sixth grade. This year, she was especially excited to showcase the strength of the tower she built.
"This is like one of my favorite events. I've been building towers since I could remember- towers, bridges, boom levers, you name it," said Marie Popielarz, a student from Dallas High School.
Students interested in the flight event built airplanes with just plastic and rubber bands. Dave Drummer, a former physics teacher, says students are judged by how long their plane stays in the air.
"The best airplanes this year I've seen flying two and a half to three minutes, which is pretty nice," said Drummer, PA State Supervisor for Flight DC.
Students who place well in each tournament will move on to state tournaments in May.