On Saturday, Jan. 15, the Science Olympiad team competed at Fort Hays State University. Together, the team brought six out of the potential 15 entries that were originally going to attend, due to some students being unable to attend because of the recent spike in COVID-19 cases and quarantines.

Science Olympiad is a club that is based on exploring ideas in science. The team of student scientists then compete against other high school students within the state. Some of the areas that are commonly explored include astronomy, chemistry, engineering, forensics and physics.

The regional event included 23 different areas of science: Anatomy & Physiology, Astronomy, Bridge Design, Cell Biology, Chemistry Lab, Code Busters, Detector Building, Disease Detectives, Dynamic Planet, Environmental Chemistry, Experimental Design, Forensics, Gravity Vehicle, Green Generation, It’s About Time, Ornithology, Ping-Pong Parachute, Remote Sensing, Rocks & Minerals, Trajectory, WiFi Lab, Wright Stuff and Write it Do it.

Many categories featured knowledge quizzes or knowledge projects, while some were projects that had to be built by the competitor beforehand.

The results of the regional competition are as follows:

Astronomy: 7th – junior Tony Arial

Bridge Design: 5th – freshman Justin Reeves and freshman Madox Zimmerman

Chemistry Lab: 4th – junior Avery Winter

Code Busters: 6th – junior Tony Arial and sophomore Jessica Feyerherm

Forensics: 4th – junior Avery Winter

Gravity Vehicle: 6th – senior Matthew Bollig

It’s About Time: 4th – senior Matthew Bollig and freshman Justin Reeves

Ping-Pong Parachute: 5th – freshman Justin Reeves and freshman Madox Zimmerman

Trajectory: 4th – freshman Justin Reeves and freshman Madox Zimmerman

WiFi Lab: 12th – senior Matthew Bollig

Write it Do it: 3rd – junior Avery Winter and sophomore Jessica Feyerherm

Science teacher Lynn Zimmerman is a co-sponsor for Science Olympiad along with fellow science instructor Beth Schiel.

“Up until this year, we had a really active team, and I think a lot of it is down to leadership,” Zimmerman said. “When we graduated our seniors last year, we pretty much lost almost everybody, and so we are in the building process again.”