MOUNT VERNON — The middle school classroom was a model of industry. Students searched for Super Glue and hacksaws to complete their projects.

They had already made blueprints for balsa wood bridges and gliders. Students measured the throws of their tiny catapults in the hallway.

In Jody Dylan’s integrated science and math class at Mount Baker Middle School, students also were practicing for competition.

In a little more than two weeks, 30 students from Mount Baker Middle School will compete in the state competition for Science Olympiad in Cheney.

It’s the first time the school will send students to state, Dylan said. This is also the first year Dylan has been able to teach students about Science Olympiad events during class instead of in club meetings.

“It’s been great,” Dylan said. “It gives the kids an opportunity to do that problem-solving and the inquiry that they wouldn’t normally get an opportunity to do in a normal science class.”

The class — the first of its kind in Skagit County — encourages students with high math and science skills to apply themselves to other tasks such as making a battery-powered car to drive only a certain distance along a straight line.

It’s harder than it looks, said car-building teammates Ike Schweikert and Brandon Calvert, both 14.

They enrolled in the class because they excelled at science or math last year, and the integrated science and math class offers a taste of challenge.

“It’s hands-on, and it’s really fun,” Brandon said. “It’s not like the other classes where you sit down and take notes.”

The 33 students in Dylan’s class form two 15-person teams with three alternates. Each team competes in 23 different events. Events include hands-on activities such as bridge building, a glider contest and a competition called “trajectory” involving a home-made catapult. Other events include taking tests on various subjects during the competition or evaluating conditions in a scientific laboratory.

Dylan said students in prior years could only attend after-school sessions if they weren’t already occupied with sports or other activities. This year, the team is much more competitive, probably because the sports students who had schedule conflicts with the team’s after-school schedule, can now participate.

In late February, both teams qualified for state with a fifth- and seventh-place rank out of 18 schools in this region. Other schools from the Skagit County area included two teams from La Conner placing 13th and 17th, one team from Clear Lake Elementary School placing 18th, and one team from Stanwood in Snohomish County, which placed fourth.

“It gave them some confidence that they’re as good or better than a lot of schools,” Dylan said.

It’s Clear Lake Elementary’s fifth year competing against students many years older, teacher Joel Howard said. He and Principal Henk Kruithof teamed up to coach students twice per week after school from December through February.

“It is very challenging for us to compete against older students, and we stress that this is a learning process for our students,” Howard said. “This year we did not earn any medals. However, we have in the past.”

More than 100 middle and high schools have Science Olympiad teams, according to the organization’s Web site. Mount Vernon High had a team this year for the first time. The team placed 18th out of 21 teams in February’s regional competition. Of the 15 teammates, 10 were freshmen.

MVHS freshman Maria Matson said she liked seeing how other schools solved the same problems her team worked on.

She was part of a group that worked on the bottle rocket competition — her favorite part of the contest.

“It was amazing. I thought we lost it because it floated down across the street, over a building and wedged between two houses,” she said. “Luckily we got it back.”

Sue Murphy, the state director for Science Olympiad, said some schools send multiple teams to state competitions.

“I know of other schools in Washington that have Science Olympiad classes,” Murphy said. “The purpose is not necessarily to build teams, but to teach science.”

Mount Baker Middle School students who were on the Science Olympiad team last year are excited that the class is every day now. Dylan said it’s easier to teach lessons to the whole class at once instead of piecemeal to students who have time to attend once or twice a week.

“We could spend a week on electricity. The whole class could benefit,” Dylan said.

Juan Zavaleta, an eighth-grader who could only practice with the team after school last year, said he likes the new focus of the class. He and class partner Alexa Mendoza, 13, drew blueprints for their balsa wood bridge on graph paper. Last week they were piecing it together with glue.

“There’s a lot more time and a lot more practice for the competition,” Juan said.

The duo worked alongside Shelby Burkhart, 14, and Esther Chong, 12, who are also building a bridge for the state meet.

While the two teams in Dylan’s first-period class are competing against each other, they also help others solve problems.

“We’re all friends,” Shelby said, then whispered behind her hand, “We’re going to win, though.”

Students are excited, too, that they are going to the state tournament.

“I’ve been counting down the days until we go to state,” said Brianna Eaken, 14.

• Kate Martin can be reached at 360-416-2145 or at .

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