It’s getting toward the end of the school year, a time when, traditionally, the classroom rigors ease up a bit for elementary school kids.

But, the lessons continue.

A warm, sunny day was put to good use on Friday, when Broad View Elementary School students took to the outdoors to participate in a Science Olympiad.

Kindergarteners through third-graders spent the day visiting about 20 science stations set up on the school’s play yard area, while fourth-and fifth-graders competed for prizes for their creation of interactive science projects.

The fourth- and fifth-graders gathered on a grassy field behind the school to take turns launching water bottle rockets they built on their own. Parent volunteers recorded the amount of time each rocket remained airborne and the students with the longest flying rockets were awarded prizes.

Teacher Gunner Thomason organized the Science Olympiad at Broad View, part of a program open to all schools by visiting www.scienceolympiad.com. At the Web site, teachers can request a packet of information on how to organize a Science Olympiad.

Fourth-grader Erin Neilon proudly displayed her water bottle rocket as she waited in line for her turn to launch. More than just a fun project, Neilon said she learned why the rocket flies high into the air, after it is filled with water, pumped up with air, and then released.

“I learned about pressure and I learned what water bottle rockets are. I didn’t know that before,” Neilon said. “I also learned how to use a hot glue gun without burning myself.”

Neilon and her classmate Ashley Johnson used empty 20-ounce soda bottles for the body of their rockets. Following design specifications, the students added fins, a nose cone and even a parachute, in an attempt to make the rocket stay airborne longer and land softer.

“These go higher than the big rocket we launched,” Johnson said, as she explained that the rockets are pumped up to 90 pounds of pressure. Thomason’s class had performed a practice run a previous day, using a larger water bottle rocket.

Broad View teachers and parent volunteers said they hope this is the beginning of an annual Science Olympiad, not only at Broad View, but at all Oak Harbor elementary schools.