MAKING SCIENCE INVOLVES BREAKING A FEW EGGS

A small plane took off from the polished wood floor of the Notre Dame Regional High School gymnasium, its propeller humming under the power of an unwinding rubber band.

It circled low before gliding to a landing, having been airborne for little more than 14 seconds.

Notre Dame High School students Geoff Seyer and David Chinnadurai had hoped their aircraft would stay aloft longer during the regional Science Olympiad on Saturday.

"You have to have everything set perfectly," said Chinnadurai.

In this case, the flight wasn't perfect. The plane made tight turns, making for a shorter flight, said Seyer.

The two boys joined over 100 junior and senior high school students from six school districts who participated in various science contests. The Olympiad involved 13 contests each for junior high and high school teams.

Ten teams participated in the Olympiad. The top three teams in the junior high division and the top four teams in the high school division move on to state competition in Columbia, Mo., on April 7. Winners there will go to national competition.

Junior high school teams from Dexter, Woodland and Arcadia Valley of Ironton, Mo., finished first, second and third in Saturday's competition. Among the high school teams, Fredericktown finished first, followed by Dexter, Woodland and Notre Dame.

The students competed in events ranging from an egg drop to the launching of air-powered rockets made from soda bottles.

Seyer said he loved the competition because it wasn't just a static science display. "This is more fun," he said.

Jared Debrecht, a senior at Arcadia Valley, spent part of his morning carefully wrapping an egg with a protective layer of drinking straws, paper, wood splints, tape, string and rubber bands.

Then he dropped the egg from a balcony 14 feet above the gymnasium floor. The egg landed with a thud, cracking on impact.

"It's all right, except it broke," said Debrecht as he headed across the gym for the airplane competition.

Notre Dame science teacher Angela Schaefer said the contests aren't just fun and games. "I think it promotes self inquiry," she said.

Eggs figured prominently in the "scrambler" contest too. Students had to make lightweight vehicles propelled by dropping weights.

The vehicles had to travel down a 27-foot-long course in the Notre Dame High School cafeteria. The object was to get as close to the end of the course as possible without hitting the wall and breaking an egg taped to the front of each vehicle.

Corey Bennett's vehicle traveled about 12 feet. "We were hoping everybody else would crack their eggs," the Dexter High School student said.