OIA students preparing for national TEAMS competition

Karah Wilson, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
·2 min read

Jun. 22—Four sophomores from Owensboro Innovation Academy are preparing to compete in a national engineering competition from June 28 to July 2 in Louisville.

Tests of Engineering, Aptitude, Math and Science (TEAMS) is an annual theme-based competition that provides middle school and high school students with the opportunity to discover engineering with the potential to make a difference in the world, according to the organization's website.

Team member Elizabeth Allen said the students will take a math test, which includes physics, a class the students haven't taken yet.

"We're all going into our junior year, and we haven't had physics yet," she said. "We're trying to learn from other materials."

Allen said the group will also complete a build project and create a presentation. The theme of this year's competition is Engineering and Everyday Devices.

"We don't know what the build is yet," she said. "They give it to us that day with random materials."

While the team can't prepare for the build since it's a surprise, the students are taking this time to get ready for the presentation and test portions of the competition.

"You can use what you learned in your engineering classes, but you can't really prepare for it, you just kind of go for it," Allen said. "There's not a whole lot you can prepare for."

In previous years, the competition had the students create builds like roller coasters and conveyer belts with items such as cardboard, paper and tape.

For the testing portion, the students will answer questions related to physics, torque, forces and kinematics.

"Since we don't know it, we're really just trying to figure out the basics," Kaylee Harrington said.

Drew Crandall said the team is receiving assistance from college students to help teach them what they might need to know before the test.

"None of us have had physics, and they have, so they're trying to give us the basics to help us out," she said. "Usually in the problems, they'll give you formulas. You just have to know how to use them."

Kaden Youngman said he enjoys learning, which is what drew him to the team.

"This is something new to learn that I didn't know before, so it's interesting," he said.

To qualify for the national competition, the team had to place in the top 20% of schools across Kentucky. The OIA team placed first in the state competition.

During the state competition, Crandall received a 79 out of 80 on the essay portion.