Urchin Beach isn’t the sort of place where bad things happen. The little seaside town is too lucky for that. But then one day, a thief steals something – the town’s dragonfly staff, which is the source of all its good fortune and the most important part of the upcoming Dragonfly Day Festival…

A ten-year-old girl may be the only person who can save humanity from extinction in this exciting graphic novel adventure.

Marlene loves three things: books, her cool Tía Ruby and hanging out with her best friend Camila. But according to her mother, Paola, the only thing she needs to focus on is school and “growing up.” That means straightening her hair every weekend so she could have “presentable”, “good hair”.

Twelve-year-old Eddie Gordon Holloway has concocted his most genius plan ever to avoid chores… especially the dreaded L-A-U-N-D-R-Y. If he can wear all the clothes he owns, he’ll only have to do the laundry once during his school break.

Rory still can’t say his r’s, but that’s just the beginning of his troubles. First Rory’s ex-best-friend Brent started hanging out with the mean lacrosse kids. But then, a terrible accident takes Brent out of school, and Rory struggles with how to feel.

Res was built to explore Mars. He was not built to have human emotions. But as he learns new things from the NASA scientists who assemble him, he begins to develop humanlike feelings. Maybe there’s a problem with his programming….

Feng-Li can’t wait to discover America with her family! But after an action-packed vacation, her parents deliver shocking news: They are returning to Taiwan and leaving Feng-Li and her older siblings in California on their own.

Suddenly, the three kids must fend for themselves in a strange new world–and get along. Starting a new school, learning a new language, and trying to make new friends while managing a household is hard enough, but Bro and Sis’s constant bickering makes everything worse. Thankfully, there are some hilarious moments to balance the stress and loneliness. But as tensions escalate–and all three kids get tangled in a web of bad choices–can Feng-Li keep her family together?

The Competition:

This event will be run as stations that the students rotate through. Stations may include but are not limited to drawings, scenarios, leaves, photographs, specimens, and songs.

 Plants and Horticulture

Identify plant structure such as leaves, bark, fruit, flower, native range, and Concepts of gravitropism, phototropism, thigmotropism and

Basic soil properties (texture and capacity to hold water) and components (sand, clay and humus).

 Wildlife

Basic characteristics and description of habitat

Eating habits and life cycles

Importance to the ecosystem and impact on humans or human activities

Identify calls, songs, tracks, pelts, skulls, and other identifying factors

The Competition:

This event students will construct a barge using aluminum foil that can support the largest number of objects without sinking

1. Each team will be giving a 15cm X 15cm (6in X 6in) piece of aluminum foil.They will have 15 minutes to construct the barge, no other materials can be used other than the foil. 
2. The students will be informed of the type of cargo (pennies, washers, paper clips, marbles or other similar objects) they will predict how many of that object that their barge can hold. 
3. They will then have 5 minutes to load their barge, one object at a time, until the barge begins to sink.  The object that causes the barge to sink will not count in the total. 

The Competition:

 The students will identify unknown powders, match fingerprints, and use chromatography to identify a note found a crime scene. 

1. The possible powders used will be; salt, granulated sugar, Plaster of Paris, salt, cornstarch, baking soda, limestone, and sand. 
2. Each team will receive 7 vials each containing one substance and two vials containing a mixture of two substances.  They will also receive water, vinegar, iodine solution, a magnifying glass, and several plastic cups. 
3. Students will be given a set of fingerprints from several suspects and they will be tasked with matching them to the fingerprints found at the crime scene. 
4. Students will create a chromatogram from a pen and use this to help identify the criminals. 
5. Students will identify who committed the crime and why. 

The Competition:

Teams will demonstrate their understanding of metric measurement by estimating and
measuring length (meter), mass (gram), fluid volume (liter), angles, and temperature
(Celsius). Teams should also be able to create and interpret data tables, bar graphs,
line graphs, pie charts, and pictographs and make basic calculations that include time,
money, fractions and percentage.

1. Students will work with their partner to answer questions related to estimation, measurements, all many types of data represented in graphs. Questions may include, but are not limited to questions involving the use of rulers, calculators,protractors, meter tapes, meter sticks, balances, beakers, graduated cylinders,thermometers, objects to measure and various types of graphs to be analyzed.
Questions may assess any or all of the following topics:

• Estimate or measure the angle degree, mass, volume, length, area, or
  temperature of various objects in metric units to the precision requested.
• Understand relative scale of metric units and which is appropriate for
  measurement (mg, g, kg, mm, cm, m, km, mL, L, kL, o C, o K, cm2 , cm3 )
  in different scenarios.
• Collect data (e.g. number of water drops various coins can hold) and
  represent that data in a correctly labeled graph or data table.
• Plot data points, make and interpret data tables, draw and interpret
  graphs, including what trends can be predicted from the data shown.
• Make estimates of data between or beyond the data points given.
• Draw and identify lines and angles, and classify shapes by properties of
  their lines and angles.
• Calculate the amount of time between two events (No time zone
  calculations).
• Calculate fractions or percentages based on charts, tables or data.
• Solve word problems that involve the use of money

The Competition:

Description: Teams will work together to pick up 50-75 grams of two different sets of materials. There will be two different rounds using different materials. 

Team Members: 2 students 

The Rules:

1. Each student will have to pick up some of a material and place it in a clear cup. The amount will be specified at the event The materials could be one of the following: sand, paper clips, cereal, packing peanuts, beans, rice, etc. 

Scoring: 

The goal is to get as close to a set amount in grams as possible. Each team member will get  a material and set amount any where between 50-75 grams. The team that gets closest to a combined total  will win.  If a team is  given the amount of 50 grams and goes over 50, those points will be subtracted from 50 to find their score. For example, if a team scored 58 they would have 50 – 8 = 42.   Any team scoring less than 50 per round will keep that exact score. 

Practice Ideas: 

Have students become familiar with what a gram, 25g, 50g, 100g, etc. feels like.  Have them weigh certain materials to learn what their mass could be.  We will use a brown paper lunch sack or a cup for measuring mass, so it is suggested to practice this way. Students will work together, so it is suggested to have them each become comfortable with what 50g feels like. 

The Competition:

• Description: The teams will be given a set of undisclosed materials to build a freestanding tower as high as possible.  The tower must be able to support a tennis ball at its top. 

  Team Members: 2 students 

  The Rules: 

  1. Each team will be given a bag of the exact same materials. Materials could include: straight pins, paper cups, drinking straws, paper clips, tape, string, paper, etc. 
  2. Teams will have 20 minutes to build their tower. The location of where the tennis ball will be placed must be higher than any other part of the tower. 
  3. Teams are encouraged to bring their own tennis ball to test during their build time. 
  4. Once they finish, the team will inform the judges and they will be given the official tennis ball to place at the top of the tower.  The tower must remain standing long enough to have the height and base of the structure measured. 
  5. It cannot be attached to anything other than the materials given. 
  6. Students cannot be coached during this event. 

  Scoring: 

  1. The judges will measure the height of the tower from the base to the top of the tennis ball. The width will be measured from the largest diameter of the base. 
  2. All towers that can hold the tennis ball will be ranked higher than those that cannot. Tallest tower that can hold a tennis ball will be the winner. 

  Practice Ideas:

  Give students different combinations of the materials listed above and practice creating towers. Create strategies for the different materials. Remember, the structure must hold a tennis ball, or another object, for at least 10 seconds. Have Fun!!!

The Competition:

Description: Each team will build and fly a paper rocket using the provided materials. 

Team Members: 2 students 

The Rules:

1. The team will have 20 minutes to build a rocket and practice launching it. The winner will be determined after the official launching.  The team closest to the target will win. 
2. The following materials will be provided: 2 large plastic soda straw, 2 sharpened pencils, 2 sheets of paper, one roll of tape, 1 pair of scissors, and 1 ruler.
3. Scoring may be closest to target, aloft time , or length. 

I would highly suggest having students practice making these paper rockets. Also, have them practice shooting at targets and for length. So often students arrive and have no idea how to create a rocket. 

How to Build A Paper Rocket: 

The Competition:

• Description:

  Epidemiology uses science to study disease, injury, health, and disability in communities. This study involves: reasoning skills, such as those used by “disease detectives;” comparison of risks (the chances of becoming sick or injured); and surveys to help describe different groups of people (for example, kids in school classes and people in neighborhoods). The goal of the Disease Detectives event is to have students understand connections between things they may encounter  in daily life and various health problems that affect communities, risks for disease/injury, and opportunities for prevention. The event will also help students to understand general categories of causes of diseases and injuries.

   

  Number of Participants:   1 or 2

   

  Approximate Time: 50 minutes

  The Competition:                                                                

  1. The contestant or team (2) will complete 25 questions. These questions will consist of questions dealing with diseases, scenarios, vocabulary associated with diseases, interpreting data, etc. 
  2. Each question, the participants will perform various activities, such as:
     1. identifying and writing the disease or injury problem related to the object 
     2. describing how the object might be used or modified to prevent the disease or injury problem 
     3. identifying and describing routes of transmission of disease (how is the virus spread)
     4. using simple calculations (e.g. addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) to make comparisons or risk for different groups. Students should also know how to find the mean, median and mode of numbers. 
     5. interpreting a table or graph presenting data related to diseases. 
  3. Understanding vocabulary associated with diseases. Some vocabulary used may be:

  Epidemiology, epidemic, pandemic, environment, ecology, reservoir, vectors, fomites, viruses, bacteria, microorganisms, cells, contagious, antibiotic, host, contamination, incubation, hypothesis, pathogen, ailment, illness, hygiene, disease, terminal, and possibly more. 

  Sample Questions:

  Questions might include examples of an improper cooking techniques as a risk factor for food-borne infectious disease, a bicycle helmet as a preventive measure for injury, fatty foods as a risk for heart disease, a tobacco product as a risk factor for lung cancer, or a bar of hand soap representing effective prevention of person-to-person spread of infectious disease. Students will also be asked to interpret data from a disease source. 

   

  Scoring:

  Responses for each question will be graded. Time completing the 25 questions will be used for any tie-breakers.