Science Olympiad is a fun activity that gets girls motivated to learn more about science by preparing for the annual Science Olympiad State Competition.

Science Olympiad has always been a huge hit at Padua Academy.  It is so popular, in fact, that another room and teacher had to be added to the program.  Every year the Science Olympiad team goes to the state competition around February.  However, the hard work and preparation for this event begins much sooner.  Most girls who want to participate in this activity get the chance to, and many return year after year. I had the chance to talk to several different girls, all thrilled to be a part of this team.

Katie Horn, a junior at Padua has been involved with Science Olympiad since the sixth grade.  She enjoys science and learning and she said “It’s a good way to put it all together and have fun.”  She always looks forward to the state competitions and says they are extremely intense and competitive.  Katie signs up for a variety of events, but always does really well in Anatomy.  In fact, for the past three years she has placed!  Her favorite memory is the bus ride because everyone is always incredibly hyper and it is a chance for everyone on the team to hang out and have fun.

Senior Kara Grubb has been in Science Olympiad for seven years.  She enjoys this activity because she “really likes science activities.”  She looks forward to the competition every year, especially the builds.  Kara’s favorite event so far was Write It Do It.  In this event, she wrote instructions for her partner to build something.  She cherishes the memory when she was a sophomore and placed second in the state for Egg-O-Knots.

Sophomores Katy Wecht, Caley McCormick, and Leanne Harkins all “really like science.”  Katy admitted that part of her incentive to join Science Olympiad is that she really wants a t-shirt. Caley is returning to Science Olympiad for the second time this year, but it is Katy and Leanne’s first time.  Last year, Caley made a helicopter; and, although she admits it did not turn out so well, she had a lot of fun.  Katy and Leanne said their favorite memory so far is creating an instrument out of a water bottle.  It is still a work in progress, but they are working hard to make it work.  They are all really excited for this year and hoping their hard work will pay off at the competition.

Members of Padua’s Science Olympiad Team work hard for their annual competition by studying and practicing, and they all deserve a pat on the back for representing Padua so well.  Mr. Taylor even said, “Science Olympiad is an activity Padua should definitely keep.”