KINGSTON — Cars jammed the Kingston Middle School parking lot to a point where people arriving 15 minutes before the North Kitsap School District Elementary Science Olympics Monday night had no choice but to park on West Kingston Road.

Nearly 250 elementary students between kindergarten and fifth grade and at least 300 parents were in attendance as students showed off their scientific talents in front of an eagerly anticipating audience. Students in every grade from NKSD’s seven elementary schools participated.

Kindergartners tested their knowledge in the sink or float exhibit; first graders buoyed designs in the boat float; second graders explored paper rockets; third graders designed two-wheelers; fourth graders launched marshmallows with a rubber band powered catapult; and fifth graders tested eraser payloads on their straw bridges designs.

NKSD Elementary Science Olympics coordinator Peggy Bullock said the top elementary science student or group from each class at every elementary school in the district was represented.

“We like to have this as a kickoff event to the school year,” she said. “It gets a lot of different kids involved in doing hands on learning. They learn the scientific method and learn how to identify variables at a young age. This is really fun for them.”

Bullock said the event aims to get children interested in science.

“We hope their excitement here will transfer into the classroom,” she said. “We hope by the time they get to middle school they will already know how to ask questions, know how to measure and know the scientific method. The world is moving so fast and it’s good to always have a scientific answer.”

Fifth grader Breanna Chaussee is one of those children who’s excited about science. She said she enjoyed constructing the straw bridges.

“The hardest thing is getting it done in time (30 minutes),” she said. “I learned what makes bridges stay strong. It’s the arches and the triangles that make it stay strong.”

Breanna’s father, Ron, is glad the NKSD is dedicated to teaching its students science related material outside the doors of the classroom.

“This is great because there’s an emphasis on science and engineering,” he said. “It introduces children to the thought of how things work and teaches them to investigate to see how they can make things work.”

First grader Kian Fadavi proudly took second place in the boat float competition.

“I liked it. It was easy. The parts were easy,” he said. “I was pretty scared.”