Starting May 10, AP physics students will compete in a student-led ‘physolympics’ competition.
“A lot of the things that I like about these kids is that they are creative and inquisitively playful with each of the labs,” physics teacher Dwayne Walton said. “Throughout the year the kids would go outside of the instructions and do extra steps and try and push the labs to their limits just to see what would happen.”
There are four teams of three in the competition, with each team being rewarded points depending on how they do in the respective events. Each of the events is inspired by a lab done during the year, and chosen by the students that wanted something to do after AP exam testing had concluded.
“The idea for all of this started before winter break,” senior Braden Heizer said. “We were doing a lab with a cart and a ramp and eventually realized that we could take various aspects of different labs and turn them into little competitions that we could have fun with after the AP test.”
This is the first year that this event has been done, but it is something that is being studied this year so that it can be replicated again in the future. It offers the opportunity for a single student’s idea to leave a lasting impression on the class.
“Actually being able to put this idea into action is something that’s not only really fun for me, but is really rewarding as well,” Heizer said. “Learning that Mr. Walton will try to do this again next year makes me really happy since it will leave a lasting impression on people that come after us.”
After two years of his class and many more labs and exams, the students look at the competition as their final opportunity to show off the skills they have learned. This is the final way that they can toy with science in high school, and they are taking full advantage of it.
“It’s really neat to see students at the end of two years of a particular course that are still intrigued by everything going on and are still trying to push the boundaries of it,” Walton said. “This project really makes me proud to see how far they’ve come along.”
