On March 6, representing Jones County and Dames Ferry Elementary at the West GA Regional Science Olympiad Tournament at Northgate High School (Newnan, GA) 5th grader Achilles Woodson placed first in “Starry Starry Night” and third in “water rockets”.
Woodson received coaching and mentoring from Jones County High Technology Student Assoc. (TSA) – comprised mainly of JCH students ontheengineeringpathway. Mrs.
Aileen Jackson, the JCH TSA advisor is looking forward to building a love for science and engineering with the younger students.
For the “water rocket” event, the goal was to launch a 2-liter bottle, at 75 psi, and have the longest time afloat. Achilles used a 2-liter coke bottle and a purple (Go JC!) parachute. Purple twine – lighter than rope and less likely to stick than yarn or string was used to attach the parachute to the bottle. The parachute was constructed out of a purple (Go JC!) garbage bag.
Different sizes and attachment points were tested before the final design was completed. There were a lot of rocket flights during the design phase.
How many earths can fit in the sun? (1.3 million, according to NASA). These were the type questions he answered correctly, in addition to identifying constellations, moon phases, etc.
Achilles has spent many hours enjoying the planetarium at the Macon Museum of Arts and Sciences which he felt was beneficial in winning the Starry Starry Night event.
Founded in 1984, the Science Olympiad is the premier team STEM competition in the nation.
The regional competition consisted of 18 different hour-long events.
Some events, like bridge building and water rockets, involved building entries before the competition. Other events, like egg drop, mystery architecture, and barge building involve both construction and competition during the hour.
The last type of event is the quizzes, which specializes in various STEM topics like Backyard Biologist, Simple Machines, and Starry Starry Night.
Throughout the event, teams from each school “compete” against each other in the hourlong events. The team that places highest in the most events win.
That team will continue to the state competition. Back in 2018, Dames Ferry, Turner Woods and Wells Elementary all competed at the state level (at Kennesaw State Univ.) A few Jones County students placed in the top 10 in the ENTIRE state. If the interest is there, Jones County Superintendent Charles Lundy is anticipating the return of the Science Olympiad teams throughout the county.
– Story and photos contributed
