Catapults, mouse traps, power cars, and a toothpick bridge. The class that brings these objects together is none other than physics at Mattoon High School.
MHS senior Tony Wente, one of these physics students, was unsure at first how the MHS team would compete at a recent Engineering Design competition Marshall.
“I thought that we would get murdered and lose because many were performing well prepared,” said Wente.
Senior Adam Sowers disagreed with Wente; he was optimist for the team.
“When I saw everybody else’s mouse trap, I knew that I would win,” said Sowers.
Hannah Osborne, also a senior, thought that she could have stepped up her own performance upon reflection.
“It took four hours to build the bridge, but I thought that I could have improved my bridge buster after the competition,” said Osborne.
MHS physics teacher James Sparks said there were several schools at the contest including: Altamont, Edwards County, Lawrenceville, Marshall, Martinsville, Oakland, Casey, Neoga and Hustonville.
Yet regardless of the competition, MHS students came in first place. Other participating schools placed second through fifth, respectively: Neoga, Marshall, Oakland, and Hutsonville.
This was not the first time MHS physics students have done well in this competition.
Sparks said the first time Mattoon went it placed fourth but, according to Sparks, “there was a different physics teacher at that time.”