FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2003

CONTACT:
Jack Gerlovich, (515) 271-3912, jack.gerlovich@drake.edu
Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu

STUDENTS TO BUILD RACE CARS OUT OF MOUSETRAPS AND BRIDGES OUT OF TOOTHPICKS AT PHYSICS OLYMPICS

Launch a Ping-Pong ball in the air via homemade catapult, power a racecar with a mousetrap spring and construct a weight-bearing bridge with just toothpicks and glue. These are just some of the creations hundreds of Iowa high school students will use to test the laws of physics at the 26th Annual Physics Olympics at Drake University on Wednesday, March 17.

The Physics Olympics will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Parents Hall in Olmsted Center, 29th Street and University Avenue. The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by Drake's School of Education and the Heartland Area Education Agency.

Using only household items and their creative minds, students will be constructing devices for the following events:

• Toy racecar mousetraps: Students design race cars out of mousetraps using only the spring to power the cars. The fastest and farthest-moving car wins.
• Falling mass-powered cars: Students raise a 1,000-gram weight 50 centimeters above a toy car to create energy that, when released, will move the car. The farthest-moving car wins.
• Toothpick bridges: Students use toothpicks and Elmer's glue to build bridges. The bridge that flexes least under weight is the winner.
• Ping-Pong catapult: Students create a catapult that will travel two meters and carry a Ping-Pong ball to be launched at a target at the end of the course. The catapult that sticks closest to the course and lands the ball closest to the target wins.
• Soda straw arm: Teams of two receive 20 jumbo plastic straws, 20 straight pins and 30 minutes to build an "arm" that will hold weight. The longest "arm" that can hold 100 grams for 10 seconds wins.
• Student-powered water heater: Teams are given a measured amount of water and have five minutes to raise its temperature using only human power. The team with the warmest water wins.

Winners in each event will advance to the state competition, which will be held at Drake on April 21.