The 8th-grade Knotts trip was something that most of the 8th-graders were excited about since day one. And now the trip is over. Though it might be sad the day went by so fast we still accomplished many things that day like going through many competitions and riding many roller coasters. Knotts Physics day was a memorable day for all. That is part of the reason we have been working so hard on the roller coasters. 

There were many contests available to participate in like the roller coaster contest. That was the main contest. Many roller coasters were put in and there were three categories you could win in, Most creative, best design, and the best of the best. Dana Middle School won two awards that day. One group was in the first place, most creative, made by Nico Seiple, Mia Navarro, and Jade Ricardo. “It felt surreal to get on stage and get the award… I was shocked to get the creativity award too.” stated first-place winner Niko Seiple. Then another roller coaster won third place made by Tessa Butorovich, Brianna Marquez, and Natalia Guldseth. There was also a conversion conundrum where there were groups from elementary schools to high schools. The point of this contest was to solve some conversion problems. Just like for the roller coasters, first place won 4 tickets back to Knotts, second place won 2, and third place won 1. The problems were made difficult and there was limited time. They also couldn’t use a calculator, but they were given a piece of paper and a pencil.

There were also other contests like the rubber band-powered car, the paper tower contest, and a paper airplane contest. For the rubber band-powered car you had to build a car that was powered with a single rubber band. The car that traveled the farthest would be the winner. For the paper tower contest, you had to build a paper tower using only paper and some tape. You and your group had to build the tallest tower in a certain amount of time. For the last contest, someone from Dana won first place. For this contest, you had to build a paper airplane with a single sheet of paper. No scissors though you could rip the paper by hand. Also, the plane couldn’t be too small. When you finished making the airplane you would stand a certain distance away from a hoop you had to throw the paper airplane through. The farthest airplane was owned by Jolene Closs. 

Even though Knotts felt short we made it a memorable day. Did I not mention that that day we broke the record in submitting the most roller coasters on physics day.