(Posted May 2, 2011)

Students from high schools and middle schools from around Pennsylvania competed at Juniata College in the state finals for Science Olympiad.
Students from high schools and middle schools from around Pennsylvania competed at Juniata College in the state finals for Science Olympiad.

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Strath Haven Middle School and Shady Side Academy Middle School finished first and second respectively in Division B of the 2011 Pennsylvania Science Olympiad State Finals held Friday, April 29, at Juniata College.

For the second year in a row, Harriton High School finished first, and Penncrest High School finished second in Division C of the 2011 Science Olympiad State Finals. This year marked the 20th year Juniata College has hosted the state finals.

All four teams will go on to compete in the Science Olympiad National Tournament at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wis., May 20-21.

The state competition brought more than 1,000 high school and middle school students from across the state to the Juniata campus Friday. The students competed in 46 total events -- some individual and some team.
Attendees were divided into two divisions -- Division B (grades 6-9) and Division C (grades 9-12). Teams attending the state finals at Juniata qualified by being among the top place-finishers at regional competitions.

There were five regional competitions held in Pennsylvania in March and April.

For the second year in a row, Harriton High School finished first, and Penncrest High School finished second in Division C of the 2011 Science Olympiad State Finals. This year marked the 20th year Juniata College has hosted the state finals.


Two schools received the Richard Smith Spirit Award, named for an executive with the Science Olympiad program. The award "personifies the "spirit of the Science Olympiad program." Bala Cynwyd Middle School won for B Division. Bishop McDevitt High School won for C Division.

The Science Olympiad State Finals highlighted the deductive and reasoning skills of some of the best science students in Pennsylvania. Strath Haven Middle School took the No. 1 team prize in Division B, followed by second-place winner Shady Side Academy Middle School, third-place winner Bala Cynwyd Middle School, fourth-place winner Whitehall Coplay Middle School and fifth-place winner Welsh Valley Middle School.

Harriton High School took the Division C title followed by second-place finisher Penncrest High School. The third-place winner was Athens Area High School; fourth place was taken by Bayard Rustin High School; and the fifth-place winner was Conestoga High School.

The goals of the Science Olympiad, a non-profit organization, are to improve the quality of science education, increase student interest in science and recognize outstanding achievement in science education. The Science Olympiad involved, nationwide, more than 1 million elementary and secondary school students in classroom activities, workshops and tournaments.

For more information about the Science Olympiad, visit the Science Olympiad Web site, www.soinc.org.

A complete list of the top three finishers in each event will follow:

Science Olympiad Results:

B Division:
Anatomy
1. Springton Lake Middle School
2. Strath Haven Middle School
3. Shady Side Academy Middle School
Awesome Aquifer
1. Whitehall Coplay Middle School
2. Stroudsburg Junior High School
3. Wyoming Area Middle School

Battery Buggy
1. Welsh Valley Middle School
2. North East Middle School
3. J.T. Lambert Intermediate School

Bottle Rocket
1. Strath Haven Middle School
2. Welsh Valley Middle School
3. Abington Heights Middle School

Can't Judge a Powder
1. Franklin Regional Middle School
2. J.T. Lambert Intermediate School
3. Shady Side Academy Middle School

Compute This
1. Shady Side Academy Middle School
2. Whitehall Coplay Middle School
3. Haverford Middle School

Crime Busters
1. Shady Side Academy Middle School
2. Chichester Middle School
3. Strath Haven Middle School

Disease Detectives
1. Allen Middle School
2. Shady Side Academy Middle School
3. Strath Haven Middle School

Dynamic Planet
1. Shady Side Academy Middle School
2. Mount Nittany Middle School
3. Fleetwood Middle School

Ecology
1. Welsh Valley Middle School
2. Charles Huston Middle School
3. Park Forest Middle School

Experimental Design
1. Charles Huston Middle School
2. Mount Nittany Middle School
3. Hershey Middle School

Fossils
1. Mount Nittany Middle School
2. Strath Haven Middle School
3. Haverford Middle School

Junkyard Challenge
1. E.T. Richardson Middle School
2. North East Middle School
3. Whitehall Coplay Middle School

Meteorology
1. Strath Haven Middle School
2. Chichester Middle School
3. Charles Huston Middle School

Microbe Mission
1. Springton Lake Middle School
2. Mount Nittany Middle School
3. Strath Haven Middle School

Optics
1. Whitehall-Coplay Middle School
2. Garnet Valley Middle School
3. Haverford Middle School

Ornithology
1. Mount Nittany Middle School
2. Strath Haven Middle School
3. Bala Cynwyd Middle School

Road Scholar
1. Haverford Middle School
2. J.T. Lambert Intermediate School
3. Strath Haven Middle School

Shock Value
1. Shady Side Academy Middle School
2. Mount Nittany Middle School
3. Stroudsburg Middle School

Solar System
1. Strath Haven Middle School
2. Haverford Middle School
3. Garnet Valley Middle School

Storm the Castle
1. Shady Side Academy Middle School
2. Welsh Valley Middle School
3. Strath Haven Middle School

Towers
1. Whitehall Coplay Middle School
2. Welsh Valley Middle School
3. Shady Side Academy Middle School

Write It Do It
1. Whitehall Coplay Middle School
2. Strath Haven Middle School
3. Allen Middle School


Division C

Anatomy & Physiology
1. Harriton High School
2. Central Bucks High School-South
3. Haverford High School

Astronomy
1. Penncrest High School
2. Harriton High School
3. Hershey High School

Chemistry Lab
1. Penncrest High School
2. Harriton High School
3. Conestoga High School

Disease Detectives
1. Penncrest High School
2. Nanticoke High School
3. Harriton High School

Dynamic Planet
1. Conestoga High School
2. Haverford High School
3. Bayard Rustin High School

Ecology
1. Harriton High School
2. Bayard Rustin High School
3. Allentown Central Catholic High School

Experimental Design
1. Harriton High School
2. Strath Haven High School
3. Athens Area High School

Forensics
1. Harriton High School
2. Spring Grove High School
3. Hershey High School

Fossils
1. Harriton High School
2. Perkiomen Valley High School
3. Bayard Rustin High School

Helicopters
1. Penncrest High School
2. Bayard Rustin High School
3. Athens Area High School

Microbe Mission
1. Athens Area High School
2. Harriton High School
3. Conestoga High School

Mission Possible
1. Athens Area High School
2. Lehighton Area High School
3. Harriton High School

Mousetrap Vehicle
1. Athens Area High School
2. Penncrest High School
3. Kutztown Senior High School

Optics
1. Harriton High School
2. Bayard Rustin High School
3. Athens Area High School

Ornithology
1. Harriton High School
2. Laurel Senior High School
3. Perkiomen Valley High School

Protein Modeling
1. Harriton High School
2. Penncrest High School
3. Taylor Allderdice High School

Remote Sensing
1. Harriton High School
2. Exeter Township Senior High School
3. Perkiomen Valley High School

Sounds of Music
1. Athens Area High School
2. Penncrest High School
3. Haverford High School

Sumo Bots
1. Harriton High School
2. Athens Area High School
3. Perkiomen Valley High School

Technical Problem Solving
1. Harriton High School
2. Penncrest High School
3. Perkiomen Valley High School

Towers
1. Athens Area High School
2. Bayard Rustin High School
3. Harriton High School

Wind Power
1. Harriton School
2. Penncrest High School
3. Athens Area High School

Write It Do It
1. Kutztown Senior High School
2. Conestoga High School
3. Mechanicsburg Area High School

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.