Water wheels and cannons used to test high school students knowledge of physics

May 13, 2011
A team from Scranton High School placed first in the team competition. Pictured in front is Jordan Chu. Back row, from left, are: Michael Deamer, Michelle Reap, Avery Baumann (who placed second in the individual competition) and Lauren Dougher. The team was coached by Lorraine Babarsky, Scranton High School faculty member (not in photo).
A team from Scranton High School placed first in the team competition. Pictured in front is Jordan Chu. Back row, from left, are: Michael Deamer, Michelle Reap, Avery Baumann (who placed second in the individual competition) and Lauren Dougher. The team was coached by Lorraine Babarsky, Scranton High School faculty member (not in photo).

More than 100 area high school students used a Rube Goldberg contraption involving a water wheel and a complex series of other devices to launch an egg through a cannon as part of The University of Scranton annual Kane Competition. The event, held in April in the Byron Recreation Complex at Scranton, tested the physics knowledge of area students through a series of hands-on experiments.

Students participating represented Carbondale, Forest City, Lackawanna Trail, North Pocono, Scranton, West Scranton, Wayne Highlands and Wyoming Area high schools. A team from Scranton High School won the team competition. Teams from Wyoming Area High School placed second and third. Eric Werbin, Wyoming Area High School, won the individual competition, followed by Avery Baumann, Scranton High School in second place and Mark Kaye from North Pocono High School in third.

The Kane Competition at The University of Scranton includes several quizzes and hands-on challenges. The competition is organized by the university’s Department of Physics and Electrical Engineering. Its purpose is to encourage more students to pursue careers in physics and engineering.

The Kane Competition is supported by the Joseph Kane Estate, The University of Scranton’s Financial Aid Office, the university’s Physics and Electrical Engineering Department, and students in the university’s physics and electrical engineering program.

Back to Top