2009 Chevron Science Olympics - Junior High Blog

Calgary Herald Article

2009-12-03T14:58:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, December 5th 2009 we will be featuring highlights and photos from the junior and senior high Chevron Science Olympics in the City Section of the Calgary Herald. Make sure to check it out!

Overall Results

2009-11-26T18:00:00.001-08:00

Here are the rankings for each of the events. The 1st ranked team in each event scored 100 points, the second place team scored 98, the third place team scored 96, and so on. To determine the overall results, those three scores were added together.

Thank you to everyone involved in this fantastic event and Congratulations to our winners!

Team Name	Boiling Point	Waste not want not	Wind and Water	OVERALL
Team Enviroses	31	34	32	34
Team Rose	30	9	20	22
Team Rose Five	32	25	25	30
Jaguars	35	13	21	26
The Bending Stones	6	14	10	7
Angels	29	19	11	23
Hazardous Waste	3	23	14	11
Solar Power	17	26	12	18
Solar Flare	18	18	28	25
Les Dauphins Debrouillards	8	10	15	8
"Les Grenouilles Geniales"	14	6	17	10
Blazing Heat	24	27	33	31
Terrific Calorics	25	32	34	32
Team Lightning	21	29	29	29
R.C.M.I.	13	11	26	17
Skittes	33	30	30	33
The Butcher	22	22	31	28
The Fury	7	17	4	6
O.L.P. LAB Rats	1	21	22	14
Dhriti and the Power Puff Girls	26	28	7	24
Properties of Matter	23	31	18	27
Dirty Lab Coats	12	24	6	13
The Boas	2	20	19	12
Grizzles 1	16	15	24	19
Grizzles 2	34	35	35	35
The Brilliant Minds	28	7	23	20
The Crimson Crusaders	5	16	27	16
Knight Lights	4	2	9	1
Knight in Arms	9	4	13	5
Science Connect	10	3	8	4
Science Freaks	20	33	5	21
Einstein	11	5	2	2
Spartans	27	8	1	9
The Biotics	19	12	16	15
EAGLES	15	1	3	3

Merit Awards

Solar Power	Teamwork!
Les Dauphins Debrouillards	Best Presentation
"Les Grenouilles Geniales"	Most Enthusiasm
Terrific Calorics	Ingenuous Design

Can anything touch the inside of the lamp cover?

2009-11-06T09:05:00.001-08:00

No.

How long is the presentation?

2009-11-06T09:04:00.001-08:00

The presentation is 2.5 minutes long.

What if one of my students are sick? Can we still attend?

2009-11-06T09:03:00.000-08:00

Absolutely! Many of our teams are down to 3 students now. Bring the students that you still have. It will be a great day!

Will there be lunch?

2009-11-06T09:02:00.000-08:00

Yes, there will be a pizza lunch for all participating students and teachers.

Event Day - Awards Ceremony/Family and friends

2009-10-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

Parents and friends of the teams are invited to attend the awards ceremony in the Discovery Theatre from 1:15 pm to 2:00 pm. These individuals will be issued a free ticket at the front desk upon entry. Please note free tickets will only be issued from 12:45 pm to 1:30 pm.

During the event times (9:00 am to 12:10 pm), only the teams and supporting teacher are permitted to attend the event. No other students may help the team on event day.

If parents and friends would like to be in the building before 12:45 then regular admission charges will apply.

Thanks

Parking on Event Day

2009-10-30T10:31:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately we will NOT be able to supply free parking on event day because the City of Calgary owns our parking lot and parking regulations have changed.

Light Bulb

2009-10-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

The light bulb is a colourless, clear 250W Phillips Infrared heat lamp.

Cellphones, ipods and other eletronic devices

2009-10-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

In order to ensure a fair competition, please leave all cellphones, ipods and other eletronic devices at home! You cannot have them with you during the competition. If you do have them on/with you, you may be disqualified from the event.
Thanks for understanding

Presentation

2009-10-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

Will we have our solar cooker with us during the presentation?

No, you will be giving your presentation WITHOUT your solar cooker (they will be in a different room). You are welcome to bring other props for the presentation.

Will there be a projector, lap top and screen to give our presentation with?

No, there will not be a projector, lap top or screen available. Presentations will be given on stage in our Creative Kids Museum. No powerpoint please. Teams only have 2.5 minutes to give their presentations and there is not time to set up electronic presentation equipment. You cannot bring additional people to set up additional gear.

Can we cover the lamp shade?

2009-10-29T10:26:00.000-07:00

Due to safety concerns, only the first 3 cm of the bottom of the lamp shade may be covered/touching your solar cooker. The remainder of the lamp shade must be completely exposed to the outside air (so nothing can be covering it). In addition, nothing can be within the interior area of the shade and guard.

Registration is full!

2009-10-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

36 teams have officially registered for the Junior High Event!
Teams on the waiting list will only be added if there is a cancellation.

Deadlines!

2009-10-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

Registration deadline is Friday, October 23

The event is almost full so we would recommend registering a team very soon!

Remember that there can be two teams registered from each school. Additional teams can be added to the waiting list.

Media release forms are due on Friday, October 30

Temperature probe and cover

2009-10-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

In the instructions it says you have to be able to have room for a temperature probe and to spoon to stir the water after the 20 mins. Can we cover the top, but leave space for the temperature probe?

Solar cookers must have an access point to the water that is EASILY accessible for the judge to stir and measure the water at the end of the 20 minutes. How you make this access point is up to you (points for creativity) but there must be room to stir the water and take a temperature reading at the end of the 20 minute period. The access point may be covered during the 20 minute timed period if desired but the cover must be able to be removed very quickly and safely (safety glasses and oven mitts must be worn) at time of measuring. A team member may remove the access point cover without points deducted from the score because it is outside the timed 20 minute period. Teams cannot touch their solar cooker during the timed 20 minute challenge (if it needs to be touched points will be deducted from your score). You may cover the rest of the top of the solar cooker during the 20 minute competition provided that the lamp is exposed to the outside air (refer to lamp questions on blog for more details).

Can we have a container in the solar cooker to hold the water?

2009-10-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

Every solar cooker must be able to hold 200 ml of water for the competition. How you hold the water is up to your team. You may use any material(s) except electrical/mechanical aids or commercial solar products (remember there are points for reused/recycled material).

Where can I place the lamp? _REVISED please read!

2009-10-08T08:29:00.000-07:00

When thinking about where to place your lamp think about the Sun. What angle would the Sun be at for your solar cooker to work best?

We encourage teams to have their lamp positioned at an angle where that Sun rays penetrate because then the lamp is mimicking the Sun. However, we realize this was not explicit in the rules to being with, so lamps facing upwards are permitted even though the Sun does not come up from the ground. If your lamp is coming up from the ground, it still MUST be completely exposed to the outside air and cannot be enclosed (so it cannot be sitting on the ground, it must be raised). The lamps heat up very quickly and due to safety concerns the lamp must be exposed to the outside air.

Is the thermometer going to be right inside our water during the boiling competition? Or is it going to be put in after the competition?

2009-10-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

The digital thermometer will be placed into your water after the 20 minute period is up.

Does the lamp support count in the final dimensions of the cooker?

2009-10-05T10:22:00.000-07:00

Your team can determine how they will hold the brooder lamp in place for the competition. You can use whatever materials you desire to make the lamp stay in place (prefabricated stands are ok). Please remember that the lamp cannot be enclosed due to a potential safety hazard (plus you cannot enclose the Sun). The material that you use to support/fasten the lamp DOES NOT count in the dimensions of the solar cooker. We will measure your cooker without the lamp and without the support. The lamp support/fastening material can only be used to hold the lamp not and it cannot be used to help heat the water.

When thinking about where to place your lamp, think about the Sun. What angle would the Sun be at for your particular solar cooker to work best?

Clarification on the revisions

2009-09-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

1. Please clarify: "The exterior of the lamp cover and lamp guard may touch your solar cooker if desired. However, nothing can be within the interior area of the shade and guard, due to safety concerns. Your solar cooker must support the lamp throughout the 20 minute competition, and can be placed at your discretion."

** Clarification: the lamp cover and lamp guard may touch your solar cooker if desired. However, the lamp cover CANNOT be completely enclosed due to a potential safety hazard. Only the first 3 cm from the edge of the lamp cover (on the guard side) may be touched. The remainder of the lamp cover (including the venting holes) must not come in contact with the solar cooker and must be completely exposed to the outside air.

2. Please clarify: "The solar cooker may be no larger than: 0.5 m wide, 0.5 m long and 0.5 m tall. Points will be deducted if the solar cooker exceeds these dimensions".

***Clarification: the dimensions specified are the dimensions of your solar cooker in absence of the brooder lamp. Additional fastening material needed to hold the brooder lamp in place will be permitted and does count in the solar cooker dimensions. However, the fastening material must only be used to hold the brooder lamp in place and it may not extend the dimensions of the solar cooker or aid in the performance of the solar cooker.

REVISIONS to the Make Ahead Event! Please Read!

2009-09-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

To make the day run smoothly, we have made a few revisions and provided more details for the make ahead event. Please download the revised document on our website:
http://www.calgaryscience.ca/educators/specialevents/index.php

Please follow these revised rules and description. Solar cookers will be judged on event day by information in the revised document.

Revisions in the document include (but not limited to…please read the document)
Amount of distilled, room temperature water: 200 ml
In the spirit of the theme, we encourage teams to use reused and recycled materials
Teams cannot touch their device/lamp or agitate the water throughout the timed 20 minute challenge. If the solar cooker/lamp needs to be touched during the 20 minute period (i.e. it poses a safety hazard), points will be deducted from your score.
The exterior of the lamp cover and lamp guard may touch your solar cooker if desired. However, nothing can be within the interior area of the shade and guard, due to safety concerns.
Your solar cooker must support the lamp throughout the 20 minute competition, and can be placed at your discretion.
You will be marked on the ingenuity of your design, the reused/recycled materials
The solar cooker may be no larger than: 0.5 m wide, 0.5 m long and 0.5 m tall. Points will be deducted if the solar cooker exceeds these dimensions.
For the 20 minute competition, you must use the lamp and bulb provided by the TELUS World of Science on event day.
Once the 20 minute timed competition is up, the water will be stirred and the temperature will be recorded by a judge. Remember that your design must allow for a temperature probe (23 cm long/ 1 cm wide) to access the water. The bottom of the probe must be submerged in at least 2 cm of water at the time of measuring.
Judging criteria breakdown has also changed (please refer to document)

Brooder Lamp Specifications are in the document.

One lamp will be displayed at the Front of House, TELUS World of Science, if you would like to view it (it cannot be taken home or used for testing)

Can other students/parent attend the event?

2009-09-22T15:26:00.000-07:00

Parents and friends of the teams are invited to attend the awards ceremony in the Discovery Theatre from 1:15 pm to 2:00 pm.

During the event times (9:00 am to 12:10 pm), only the teams and supporting teacher are permitted to attend. No other students may help the team on event day.

Multiple Teams from the Same School

2009-09-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

Schools are welcome to register two teams of students to take part in the Science Olympics. If you would like to register a third team, then it will be added to the wait list. Closer to the registration deadline, if there is still room, we will happily accept a third team from your school.
Thanks!

2009-07-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 2009 Junior High Science Olympics Blog!

The theme for this year's competition is Energy and the Environment