ESU 8 Hosts 70 Elementary Students For Science Olympiad

The ESU 8's Second Annual Elementary Science Olympiad brought 70 kids from 14 different school districts to Neligh on Thursday.

Students in grades four through six participated in the event, moving between stations to explore science.

According to Heidi Rethmeier, professional development coordinator, the activities are a lot of fun for the kids.

"They get to explore what it's like to be a scientist and explore scientific investigation.," Rethmeier said, "It's very hands-on so, the kids enjoy the activities."

Some of the stations at the Olympiad included a sink or float station where kids had to guess which objects would sink in a tank of water, and which ones would float. This was a lesson for them in density.

"One station that I am running in particular is Strawberry DNA," said Rethmeier. "They get to explore some life science and extract DNA from strawberries and see what that looks like."

Another activity involved catapulting gummy bears. Students are given random supplies and have to build a catapult to see how far they can launch a gummy bear.

Rethmeier one of the activities was something that most people don't think about. Students have to build an object with legos hidden behind cardboard and then describe what they've built to another student to see if they could build the exact same thing.

"A lot of students don't think about communication as being important for a scientist, but it certainly is," Rethmeither said. "So, thats a fun activity to see how they do."