TIMMINS – Science Timmins celebrated its 50th anniversary on October 18 with another edition of the popular Science Olympics competition.
More than 250 students from over 20 schools across the north gathered to put their love of science to the test.
One of the many competitions in this year's Science Olympics involved making mini-stratospheric balloon launches.
Not every team's project went as well in practice as on paper, but Science Timmins says trial and error is what real science is all about.
"It's a really hands on approach to science, as opposed to just concept-based. And most kids love that," said Lorraine Cantin, Science Timmins.
Other competitions included building geometric structures with toothpicks, cup stacking challenges, and building a maze for a robotic 'X-Bug' to scurry through.
"There's a lot of different STEAM and STEM challenges and they change every year," said one student.
I've been very into chemistry and all the other sciences this year, a lot more than last year. Last year, I didn't know that Science Olympics was a thing but this year I found out and was like 'this seems really fun'," said another.
Cantin says after the competition, it's important to capitalize on her students' spark of interest in science by exposing them to hands-on activities throughout the year.
She also says that as technology develops, the Science Olympics need to incorporate the new advancements into its challenges.
