08-02-2025
Area students test their skills at Math and Engineering Competition
Fort Gibson freshman Isaac McDonnell blew up a balloon larger than his head, hoping it would propel his small car to victory.
It did.
Isaac and his partner, Landon Ireland, won the balloon-powered vehicle competition Thursday at the 2025 Math and Engineering Competition.
The Math and Engineering Competition drew 567 students from 25 area schools to Hilldale High School. Of those, 316 competed in math and 251 competed in engineering.
Engineering competitions pushed participants to build the tallest paper tower, as well as use a balloon to get a car to go fast and far.
Isaac and Landon's vehicle went 40 feet at 124 centimeters per second, then bumped into a wall at the end of the track.
Isaac said he expected the team to get third, 'maybe second.'
'It was pretty heavy, and I'll try to make it lighter next time,' he said.
Paper tower contestants tried various methods to get their towers up.
Grand View sixth graders Pedro Vilchis Leonardo Landaverde built a base with four triangular supports, then stuck their tubes into each other.
'We put the big ones on the inside so it was tight,' Pedro said. 'And we put more paper at the bottom, so it was more heavy at the bottom.'
Their 75-inch tower helped them win the junior competition.
Porter sophomores Aaliyah Moore and Kenley Ball took second place in the senior division with their 53.25 inch tower.
'She rolled and I taped,' Kenley said. 'And then we just made a pile, and we did it at the last minute.'
Aaliyah said they could have gone higher had they started stacking faster.
'We had enough rolls,' Aaliyah said. 'We should have started stacking faster; we could have had another layer.'
Part of engineering is to help people think differently, said Wagoner High STEM teacher Damon Boston. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Math.
'It helps them think about what's there,' Boston said. 'And that's part of the engineering process — thinking about how we can make it better, whatever it is.'
The competition is presented by Indian Capital Technology Center, Port Muskogee, Oklahoma School of Science and Math, and the Muskogee Area Educational Consortium.
Participants visited booths for area utilities and manufacturers. They included OG&E, Vallourec and Georgia-Pacific. ICTC had a booth, as did colleges such as Connors State College and Northeast Oklahoma A&M.
Keli Miles, sixth and seventh grade Academy math teacher, said she wanted her students to discover opportunities in math and engineering.
'Muskogee doesn't offer a lot of options for students to see possible career choices,' Miles said. 'Engineering is near and dear to my heart. It's what my daughter does. I want the students to see opportunities they might not otherwise have. If we can spark an interest at this age, there's a future for Muskogee.'
