On Saturday, March 29, the Science Olympiad team and science teacher and team moderator Jessica Limmer competed in the Maryland State Finals at Johns Hopkins University.

The team placed seventh out of eight teams in the A Division. According to Limmer, the A division is for “new teams and ]teams from] small private schools,” whereas the AA Division is for experienced teams and those from bigger schools.

Even though the team placed seventh, junior Fred Zhang and seniors Cole Alban, Adam Beard, and Andrew Beard placed first and second in a variety of events. For a full list of the team’s ranks, click here.

According to Limmer, there are around 27 events. These include experiments and a test or quiz that is taken with a partner with the aid of notes. There are also events that requires teams to build or prepare a model of something before the competition and have it meet certain measurement requirements in order to use it to compete with.

“I was in the astronomy challenge,” junior Alex English said. “It was tough but I still had a great time.” According to English, the astronomy challenge was a test that he had to complete with senior Matt Cleary.

“It asked for the name of a star, its distance, its age, and the kind of sun [it is],” English said.

The Science Olympiad team was started this year at JC by Limmer, who participated in the club while teaching at North County High School in Anne Arundel County.

According to Limmer, the Science Olympiad team is perfect for any student who has a “passion for science, technology and engineering.” Additionally, students in the Science Technology Engineering and Math program or in the National Honor Society can earn their required STEM or service hours by participating in the team.

“I look forward to next year,” Limmer said. “Now we know what to expect.”

Angela DeCarlo is a Copy Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.