ORONO — Over 200 middle and high school students from across the state were the University of Maine on Saturday for the 40th annual Maine Science Olympiad.

“They prepare for months, they work together in teams, a lot of it’s about communication…one of my favorites is an event called bungee drop, where the students are designing their own device that’s going to fall a distance without striking the ground,” said David Sturm, a UMaine physics professor and State Director of the Maine Science Olympiad.

Students had the chance to compete in dozens of STEM related events. 

“They’re learning that science is fun and they’re learning that it’s great to make mistakes, and that science isn’t always that serious,” explained Tom Stone, a physics lecturer at UMaine. 

“Most events, they require a lot of, or at least some preparation and a good base knowledge…but it’s a really fun time that you can share with your classmates,” said Waynflete School sophomore Lily Brennan. 

The event gives high schoolers a chance to think about careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

“I did do the forestry event for a couple of years before they cut it and I definitely credit that with getting me interested in environmental science,” explained Deering High School junior Ellis Retzer. 

Younger scientists say they had the opportunity to explore and experiment with different skills.

“I really like zoology and ecology, and I did an ecology event, and I just think it’s really cool to learn about how the organisms interact, and I really like paleontology with fossils,” shared Grace Ward, a student at Conners Emerson School.

“Learning new stuff like, everywhere, like I didn’t know that fossils would date back that many years,” said Conners Emerson student Jonquil Rampacek of her most surprising discoveries. 

“Seeing the video of the helicopter flying, that really made me think that I should go into aerodynamics,” added Miles Maugh, who also attends Conners Emerson. 

Conners Emerson School finished first place in the middle school division of the competition, while Falmouth High School finished first for high school, meaning both can represent Maine at the national competiton. The national-level Science Olympiad competition will be held in Nebraska in May.