LEHMAN TWP. — Scott Field and Josh Orehotsky have no problem wearing pink, even though they are high school sophomores. That is the color of the t-shirts the Lake-Lehman team chose for its stint at this year’s Northeast Regional Science Olympiad.
Penn State hosted the event Wednesday, with hundreds of students from high schools and middle schools showing off their prowess in a variety of scientific challenges.
The competitors, their coaches, some parents and a smattering of equipment managers and team alternates came from all over the northern part of the state. Some got up at 4:30 a.m. to make the trek from as far away as Lehighton, Athens, Wyalusing and Jersey Shore. Others, like the youngsters from Lake-Lehman, could have walked to the PSU campus.
The campus was dotted with clusters of young people in team t-shirts like the Kelly green of the Wyoming Area High School team, purple for Wallenpaupack, gray for Pittston Area and black with an orange paw logo for Tunkhannock. Lake-Lehman students in bright pink also sported their trademark science pun on the back.
But the thing that drove all of them wasn’t the chance to wear a science team t-shirt, but rather a desire to compete in a high-level science competition.
“It’s a fun competition. And you get to meet interesting people,” Field said. “And, yeah, it’s a day out of school. But we really have to work hard to get here and there’s pressure to get the job done.”
The Field-Orehotsky team put its hovercraft to the test in one of the day’s events. The boys took a break to watch the “Wright Stuff” competition – non-motorized aircrafts in timed flights – before heading for lunch, then putting their robotic arm to the test later in the afternoon.
The pair weas among the majority of the high schoolers who have been competing at this level for several years. The top eight teams from Wednesday’s event will go on to the state competition at Juniata College in April with a chance to bring back a trophy for their school’s display case.
Competitions came in a variety of forms. There were computer-based tests in anatomy and physiology, fast facts and food science, identifying rocks and minerals and a meteorology. Then there were the hands-on competitions like electric vehicles and helicopters that students constructed and demonstrated for speed and endurance. There was a “tower” competition where the students tested strength of their small wooden structures and a bottle-rocket competition on the PSU tennis courts.
For “Write It, Do It,” one partner wrote out directions and the second team member had to construct a figure using those directions. And a relatively new category, hydrogeology, had competitors tracing the path of some form of contamination through a water system.
As in any good competition, there are plenty of people to record what happens.
“I’m here to support my teammates and get the video,” said Liliana Corredo, a ninth-grader from Dallas High School who captured the hoverboard competition on her cell phone. “We support our own at the open events.”
Corredo became a competitor last year because it “seemed like really fun,” and was back for a second year because she likes the challenge.
She and teammate Carla Weiss, an eighth-grader in her first year of competition, had the chance to watch their teammates before their “Write It, Do It” time slot.
Weiss is still on the fence about taking part in the Science Olympiad next hear, however.
There was a bevy of cell phones recording the event, including one held by team newbie, Shane Healey, a sixth-grader who attended as a team alternate.
“It’s a bit tough,” he said. “Alternates get to fill in if someone on the team has to drop out. This year, nobody did, so I’m filming and providing moral support.”
He and fellow sixth-grader, Gary Weaver, loved being at the competition, even though they couldn’t take part.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Weaver said. “And we’re learning what we will need to do next year.”
The annual event takes a proverbial village, said Rachel Olszewski, a member of the campus communications team.
“There are staff and volunteers who keep things running,” she said. “But it’s a great day, and the youngsters love to compete at this level.”
And for the “athletes” themselves, it’s a chance to put another accomplishment on their high school resume.
“It’s something for these kids to be proud of,” said Nancy Ellis, of Pittston, who, with husband, Brian, came to cheer for their three sons. “There are so many ways for students to excel, not just in athletics, but in academics, too.”
