Circuit wizardry and dissecting owl pellets. No, this is not the Hogwart’s, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but a scientific adventure that some Malibu fourth and fifth graders embarked upon when they attended a local competition recently.
After working on pre-built projects and sharpening their scientific skills for more than three months, 15 Webster Elementary School students won first place for their overall achievements at the annual Los Angeles County Science Olympiad at Cal State Northridge University.
“This came as a total surprise, said Colleen O’Bierne Brydon, parent of one of the students on the team.
The students from teacher Victoria Winokur’s class attended this scientific event two weeks ago with the expectation to learn and were pleasantly surprised when, despite the fact this was their first time competing, they gathered the most points and won against seasoned competitors from other elementary schools. A total of 39 schools competed in the division.
The Science Olympiad is a national nonprofit organization devoted to improving the quality of science education, hoping to create a passion for learning science, states a CSUN press release.
Making straw towers and creating enough padding to catch an egg’s two-story fall without breaking it were among the activities the Webster students took part in.
“I really like science and I thought that going to a college to do a bunch of activities sounded great,” said Kendall Follert. “And it was great.”
As they spoke about individual competitions, Emily Rodriguez, Athena Denos and Jenna Simmons recounted the owl pellet experiment. Once they are done eating, owls, which eat an entire animal, regurgitate the fur and bones of their prey, the students explained.
In this event, the girls had to dissect and put together the bones of a regurgitated mouse.
“That was the grossest,” they said.
But as they participated in the competition, these fourth and fifth graders learned more than science.
“We enjoyed spending time together at the event and we all came out better friends,” said Simmons.
“We learned teamwork because we had to work together with partners,” said another student. “Teamwork was the better part of it.”
As they prepared for the event, the children also learned about organization and scheduling, said Julie Clark-Pfeiffer, a parent who supported the group as they prepared to compete.
They also had a little extra help. Their teacher Winokur is very much into science. Her husband, Ed Kiegle, is a molecular biologist by profession and he often visits the class to share his science skills with the students. As a result, the students are already well versed in biology and DNA matters.
“The atmosphere that the teacher and Clark-Pfeiffer created was one of both fun and challenge,” said Brydon. “The kids succeeded because they were inspired to do it and they wanted to do it.”
The competitions tested the students’ ability to design and build various projects ahead of time and offered on-the-spot events such as quizzes on famous scientists.
The students were divided into three divisions; A, for elementary school children in grades 4 to 6, B, for middle school students, and C, for high school students.
The following students from Winokur’s class participated in the A division: Morgan Adams, Sam Block, Christie Brydon, Colin Cadarette, Athena Denos, Kendall Follert, Greg Lieberman, Olivia Pepper, Jack Pfeiffer, Emily Rodriguez, Sam Rubinroit, Jena Sherry, Jesse Simmons-Dial, Searra Silverberg and Isabel Smith.