OIL CITY, Pa. – Saturday, April 20th, 2013 marked the seventeenth year that students from area schools have gotten together for the Brain Drain competition. For the last two years the event has been held at Oil City High School.Students receive two challenges in January. The rules are set and the students must plan and prepare for the two challenges. This year the students needed to launch and retrieve Twinkie like objects into space and create a Rube Goldberg type machine that could press a cell phone button to make a call in fifteen or more steps.
Franklin sent two middle division teams and one high school team to the challenge. The teams performed quite well in the challenge events as well as in three spontaneous events. Spontaneous events this year included knowledge of astrophysicists, literature, art, music, and movies, following directions to fold a paper airship, and launching a helium balloon to a predetermined height.
Franklin brought back the hardware in record numbers at the senior division this year. Team members Lizzy Ivell, Connor Virgile, Geoffrey Spaid, Dalton Lusher, Hunter Hawke, Noah Cowles, and Sydney Herdle placed second over all among high school teams. In the individual events they placed 3rd in Twinkie Twinkie Little Star and Rude Callberg, 2nd in Not Too Soon Balloon, and 1st in Rocketship Launch.
The middle division teams also placed in events. The team consisting of Will Thompson, Adam Taylor, Maddy Bush, Jack Ross, Savanna Carr, Trevor Wood, and Kurtis Hingl was 1st in Planet Hollywood and 2nd in Rocketship Launch.
The other middle division team was composed of sixth graders Sam Pfohl, Jenna McCandless, Emma Dye, Joe Danvers, Cyrus Thompson, Ava Carr, Zach Taylor, and Sam Burchfield. In their Brain Drain debut they finished first in the Rocketship launch.
“Many thanks go out to Deb Hardy and David Strickland who once again provided an awesome day for local youth to celebrate Brain Drain,” said Franklin Elementary School Teacher James Ivell .
Brain Drain Results
April 20, 2013
Twinkie Twinkie Little Star
Middle School Division
1st Oil City
2nd Oil City
3rd Cranberry
High School Division
1st Butler 1
2nd Oil City
3rd Franklin
Rude Callberg
Middle School Division
1st Cranberry
2nd Dubois
3rd Redbank
High School Division
1st Oil City
2nd Butler
3rd Franklin
Not Too Soon Balloon
Middle School Division
1st Cranberry
2nd Forest
3rd DuBois
High School Division
1st Butler 4
2nd Franklin
3rd Cranberry
Planet Hollywood
Middle School Division
1st Franklin 11
2nd Oil City
3rd Cranberry
High School Division
1st Cranberry
2nd Oil City 16
3rd Butler 1
Rocketship
Middle School Division
1st Franklin 10
2nd Franklin 11
3rd Cranberry
High School Division
1st Franklin
2nd Butler 4
3rd Butler 2
Overall Winners
Middle School Division
1st Cranberry
2nd Oil City 14
3rd Redbank
High School Division
1st Butler 1
2nd Franklin
3rd Butler 4
