Shreveport students prepare for Science Olympiad

Marie Marcalus reacts positively to a failure during a demonstration at St. John Berchmans Catholic School in Shreveport, La., Aug. 17, 2011. The tower Marie was trying to collapse failed to do so even after all the sand available was poured into the bucket suspended below the tower on a chain. “Towers” is an exercise where balsawood towers constructed by students are put to a weight test to evaluate the strength of the construction and design, and how much weight it takes to collapse the tower. This tower, along with a smaller one, failed to collapse as expected with the large amount of sand added to the bucket. Instructors at the school decided to keep the towers in tact as examples of excellence. Marie is a student at the Catholic school, and participated in the STARBASE Louisiana program at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., when she was 5th Graders. The STARBASE program, which is supported by the 307th Bomb Wing, presents an exciting 25-hour hands on/minds on aviation and aerospace curriculum to area 5th grade students and their teachers. The DoD program is committed to addressing the critical needs in STEM education - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. STARBASE Louisiana introduces its students to exciting STEM education topics, inspiring these young minds to further explore these topics in future course work. (Courtesy photo by Jeff Walston)