School News

Wantagh to host science competition

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Wantagh High School will play host to the Science Olympiad regional competition for the first time on Jan. 31, which will feature 43 teams from 22 schools in eastern Nassau County.

Three teams from Wantagh’s Science Olympiad club will be participating in the competition, which will included 20 events. Advisor Rich Colavita said the goal is to advance to the state competition for the third consecutive year, and seventh time overall.

The regional competition will feature events that cover all areas of high school science including Earth science, biology, chemistry, physics and engineering. Some of the events are tests, and others are lab activities. There are also several competitions where students will test objects they have built in advance, such as bridges, cars and airplanes.

Colavita said every student on the three teams will participate in two or three events each. Many have been coming to his classroom every day after school for months to prepare for the competition. Science Olympiad has also been meeting for three hours one Friday night each month.

“They are hugely dedicated to this,” Colavita said of his students. “We all just have a great time. It’s a great atmosphere.”

Colavita said Science Olympiad starts meeting in early September, but students really begin to gear up for the competition later in the month when the book of rules is released, listing the guidelines for each event. “When the book comes,” he said, “it’s a big day.”

While all of the events are of equal importance, Colavita said some draw good crowds. The bridge competition is a big spectator event because of the potential for calamity, he explained. Each team places their bridge on an elevated stand, and a bucket is attached to it. Sand is added until the bridge collapses. The one that can withstand the most weight wins.

Colavita said some of the bridges collapse in dramatic fashion, which delights the crowd.

Junior Max Moritz is working on a bridge for the competition. He is excited to see how his holds up in comparison to other teams. “It’s all about making it weigh the least and hold the most,” he said, adding that he has been testing several designs for the past few months.

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