Congratulations are in order!  Last Saturday, when 44 high schools from across Massachusetts competed in the Massachusetts Science Olympiad at Framingham State University, Newton North HS Science Team placed 2nd and Newton South HS Science Team placed 4th statewide.  Together the Newton teams won first-place medals in 7 of the 20 competitive events (NNHS 5 + NSHS 2).  Overall, NNHS won 13 medals and NSHS won 4.

The 20 competitive events are chosen each year to reflect current science in genetics, earth science, chemistry, anatomy, physics, geology, astronomy, mechanical engineering and technology.  The Olympiad emphasizes hands-on, group participation, inquiry/process skills, and content knowledge.  Students compete in groups of two or three and must cross-train to be prepared for the event schedule that is released later in the year.  Well-rounded, collaborative teams excel in events such as:

• Bungee Drop – Analyzing elastic-cord drops from a given height to a surface plane;
• Disease Detective – Applying principles of epidemiology to a published report of a real-life health situation or problem;
• Forensics – Identifying polymers, solids, fibers, and other materials in a crime scenario;
• Circuit Lab – Theoretical and practical activities involving DC electrical circuits;
• Experimental Design – Designing, conducting, analyzing, and writing-up an experiment; and
• Scrambler – Designing, building, and testing a mechanical device that uses the energy from a falling mass to transport an egg along a straight track as quickly as possible and stop as close as possible to the center of a terminal barrier — without breaking the egg!