Building Towers of Scientific Knowledge

In Matt Bengtson’s skilled hands, an 8 1/2-by-11-inch sheet of paper became a free-standing tower nearly 8 feet tall, earning him honors Monday at Chaminade High School’s annual Physics Olympics.

“I used a cutting board to cut half-inch strips for about five feet then I used whatever I had left the rest of the way,” said Bengtson, a senior, who built his rail-thin, 7-foot-9-inch tower in 35 minutes.

All contestants were allowed to cut the sheet of paper however they wanted and use tape to hold pieces together, but the finished product had to stand unassisted for at least five seconds. A tripod construction at the base held Bengtson’s tower up.

The idea was to demonstrate forces and center of balance.

About 170 students participated in the Physics Olympics, a two-day event that allows students to showcase their best creations in a variety of areas and earn extra credit.

Among Monday’s major categories were the aluminum boat, slow bike race and cars powered by mouse traps and rubber bands.

“This helps show physics is not relegated to equations on a board, that it can be applied to real life,” said Chaminade physics teacher Brian Corrigan, one of the event’s organizers.

Seniors Ryan Ciriaco and Daryl McCormick teamed up to create the winning rubber band-powered car.

Consisting of white foam board, a few screws and skateboard wheels, their masterpiece traveled 1,121 centimeters after being launched with a rubber band by an attached metal hook. It took the teenagers four hours to make it.

The main lesson, Corrigan said, is conservation of energy. Ciriaco took note.

“It demonstrated the transfer of energy from this simple rubber band to the entire car,” he said.