Hundreds of students Storm The Citadel for 2019 STEM competition

Carolina Park K-5 Trebuchet Team competing at Storm The Citadel 2019

Students from around the state are celebrating the result of their hard work after a successful showing at the ninth annual Storm The Citadel event.

Hundreds of students, from K-12 to college, visited The Citadel campus Feb. 9 to compete in trebuchet, bridge building, robotics and water bottle rocket competitions.

Student participates in the robotics competition during Storm The Citadel 2019
Student adjusts the trajectory of his robot during Storm The Citadel 2019

This year, the rules were a little different for competitors in the Centurion division which includes students in grades 6-12 and in college, plus military personnel. They could plan and practice, but they did not know the actual target distance they would be aiming for until just days before the competition. The teams were informed of three possible distances to be used in the matches two weeks out. They had to choose one of them and report their selection a week before competition day.

The Citadel's own Storm The Citadel trebuchet team 2019
The Citadel’s own Storm The Citadel trebuchet team 2019 took 1st place in their division

Storm The Citadel is co-hosted by Google and The Citadel STEM Center of Excellence along with the School of EngineeringZucker Family School of Education and the School of Science and Mathematics, The event promotes science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and allows students to use the skills they learn in the classroom in a new and exciting way.

Kindergarten Trebuchet team from Healthwood Elementary School
Kindergarten Trebuchet team from Healthwood Elementary School

Results of the trebuchet competition

After spending months learning about the physics behind the medieval-style devices and designing and building their own, teams competed in Storm The Citadel’s trebuchet competition. The teams were split into two different divisions – Hoplite and Centurion – and were judged on accuracy, distance, spirit and design.

Centurion Overall

Boy Scouts Troop 502 Isle of Palms accepting Overall Accuracy Award
Boy Scouts Troop 502 Isle of Palms accepting Overall Accuracy Award
Cane Bay Middle School accepting Overall Distance Award
Cane Bay Middle School accepting Overall Distance Award

First Place Accuracy Award – Boy Scouts Troop 502 Isle of Palms

Second Place Accuracy Award – Cane Bay Middle School

Third Place Accuracy Award  (tie) – St. Stephen Middle School

Third Place Accuracy Award (tie) – Palmetto Scholars Academy

Distance Award – Cane Bay Middle School

Centurion Middle School

St. Stephen Middle School accepting Accuracy Award
St. Stephen Middle School accepting Accuracy Award
Cane Bay Middle School accepting Distance Award
Cane Bay Middle School accepting Distance Award

First Place Accuracy Award – St. Stephen Middle School

Second Place Accuracy Award – Cane Bay Middle School

Third Place Accuracy Award – College Park Middle School

Distance Award – Cane Bay Middle School

Spirit Award – Marrington Middle School

Centurion High School

Boy Scouts Troop 502 Isle of Palms accepting High School Accuracy Award
Boy Scouts Troop 502 Isle of Palms accepting High School Accuracy Award
Palmetto Scholars Academy accepting High School Distance Award
Palmetto Scholars Academy accepting High School Distance Award

First Place Accuracy Award – Boy Scout Troop 502 Isle of Palms

Second Place Accuracy Award -Palmetto Scholars Academy

Distance Award – Palmetto Scholars Academy

Spirit Award – Boy Scout Troop 502 Isle of Palms

Centurion College/Professional

Citadel cadets accepting college distance and accuracy awards
Citadel cadets accepting college distance and accuracy awards

First Place Accuracy Award – The Citadel

Distance Award – The Citadel

Hoplite Division

First Place Accuracy Award – Wild Knights – Buist Academy

Second Place Accuracy Award – Kingsbury Knights Lambda Squad – Kingsbury Elementary School

Third Place Accuracy Award – Kingsbury Knights Gamma Squad – Kingsbury Elementary School

First Place Spirit Award – Dragon Builders – Devon Forest Elementary School

Second Place Spirit Award – Launching Ladies – St. Andrew’s School of Math and Science

Third Place Spirit Award – Wild Knights – Buist Academy

Design Poster Award – Wasabi Warriors – Buist Academy

Video Award – Launching Ladies – St. Andrew’s School of Math and Science