WCHS Science Club participates in Regional Science Competition

The Science Olympiad is an international nonprofit organization devoted to increasing student interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by providing recognition for outstanding team achievements in STEM related events that span biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, engineering and inquiry.

On Feb. 15, 2025, White County High School took a group of 13 students to MTSU and competed in a Regional Science Olympiad. Many of the schools who were participating were from the Middle Tennessee region, such as Hume-Fogg, Ravenwood High School, Central Magnet, Fred J. Page High School, etc., and have an extensive history with participating in Science Olympiad. Regardless of the strong competition, WCHS was eager to motivate students to embrace the challenge, work collaboratively, and discover a greater passion for the sciences.

For months leading up to the competition, students would work in teams on various projects such as designing an air trajectory cannon that uses gravitational force to launch a projectile, building and coding an electric vehicle that uses a DC motor, engineering a bungee cord to drop a provided mass over various distances, and building a helicopter out of balsa wood. Also, several events required students to be highly knowledgeable in subjects relating to anatomy and physiology, astronomy, cryptanalysis, ecology, entomology, experimental design, forensics, fossils, geological mapping, glaciers, and wind power. Wesley Martin and Jennifer Shaw, both science teachers at WCHS, served as coaches for the team.

“We truly have some incredible students,” Martin said about the team. “They worked hard to prepare and spent a lot of time trying to learn really advanced concepts. We were extremely proud and impressed with how they performed. It is always a rewarding feeling when you see these kids get motivated and inspired in STEM, and we hope that this is something that we can continue for many years to come.”

While the team did not qualify as one of the top teams to advance to state, the experience was something that these students will remember for the rest of their lives.

Out of the 15 events in which they competed, WCHS placed in seven of them. The results were as follows:

• Write It, Do It - 2nd Overall (Adam Shaw & Estee Willis)
• Bungee Drop - 3rd Overall (Addy Cocke & Leslie Pickering)
• Dynamic Planet - 4th Overall (Lucas Blakeman & Macie Burton)
• Ecology - 6th Overall (Lucas Blakeman & Leslie Pickering)
• Electric Vehicle - 3rd Overall (Adam Shaw & Sydney Sigler)
• Geological Mapping - 4th Overall (Lucas Blakeman & Gracie Hines)
• Helicopter - 6th Place (Adam Shaw & Sydney Sigler)