As the first semester winds down to a quick end we take the time to look at all the success we’ve had here at Baldwin High School. From the football team making it further than they have in years, from the volleyball team achieving new goals, cross country bringing home even more hardware, to the debate team winning matches left and right. It is easy to see that BHS has had a very successful 2013 year. This does not exclude Jim Hartman’s Physics II class as they traveled to KU to participate in the High School Design Competition, “License to Build.” BHS has reached success even in the classrooms.
Hartman’s Physics II class participated, for the first time ever in the KU competition, “License to Build.” on November 5, 2013. Four teams from Baldwin competed and represented Baldwin at the competition and all four teams did outstandingly well.
“Everyone did really well,” Hartman said. “This was the first year that the Physics II class participated in this event and they all made me very proud.”
The students worked hard for three weeks prior to the event, perfecting their projects and tactics. The challenges for the competitions consisted of: design, build, and enter an 8” x 8” x 8” transported capable of functioning through a 20 foot drop, a 20 foot track and ramp, and a 10 foot water trough. The students had to spend time in and out of class to get their transporter to work just right.
“The competition was pretty hard since the transporter had to complete three different things,” senior Nick Joslyn said. “I’m very happy with how my team did.”
“It was very difficult,” senior Austin Chapman agreed. “It was especially difficult to reach the deadline in time.”
The four teams from Baldwin, team BHS Alpha, team BHS B-Town 2014, team BHS B-Town 2013, and team BHS SAS (Serious About Science) all competed against 81 other teams from all different schools.
Team BHS Alpha accumulated a score earning them a ranking of 12 out of the 81. BHS Alpha placed fourth overall in the transporter with water challenge. This was a challenge where the transporter must carry a magnet that could potentially pick up five other magnets placed on pedestals located along the trough filled with 6 inches of water. BHS Alpha successfully picked up all five magnets.
BHS Alpha consisted of Joslyn, Andrew Simpson, Grayson Langham, and Nathan Clem.
“I had a lot of fun participating in the competition,” Simpson said. “Even though it was difficult, it was still a lot of fun.”
Team BHS B-Town 2014, consisting of members, Samantha Robinson, Sophia Brich, and Ben Huntington, earned a ranking of 13 out of 81 in the competition, just following Team BHS Alpha.
Other teams competing include team BHS B-Town 2013 whose members are Katie Schwalm, Macy Gardner, and Jacob Brungardt; and BHS SAS whose members are Chapman, Duncan Murray, Ian Kirk and Jack Thomas.