Metro Atlanta students are dissecting crime scenes, building robots and answering big questions like what makes glow sticks glow.

But one cracked egg, one wobbly creation, one set of details that don't add up — and it's game over.

Hyosub Shin/AJC (ENLARGE)

J.C. Booth Middle School in Peachtree City is a Science Olympiad powerhouse and they prepare for the state competition in Washington DC on Saturday. Science Olympiad Coach Mary Wilde (second from left) explains with Celestial Globe to learn constellations and stars as 9th graders (from left) Hannah Chambless, Brahma NaTarajan, and Cara Ludwick look on.

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It's mad science in Georgia as three major statewide science competitions get under way, providing a stage for budding scientists to flaunt their smarts, savvy and, in some cases, speed.

They are part of an elite group of brainiacs in a state better known for its excellence on grassy playing fields, not science labs.

"You've got some amazingly brilliant kids who are also the cool kids and everyone wants to be around them, and then you've got some kids who some people might label "geek" who haven't found a niche in which they've been successful at school and they've been given a chance to be successful, feel good about themselves and gain the respect of other kids," said Janet Silvera, one of the science coaches at Holy Innocents' Episcopal School in Atlanta.

The contests kick off today with the Georgia Science Olympiad at Augusta State University. The Georgia Science and Engineering Fair converges at the University of Georgia April 2-5. And on April 17-19, robots will invade the Georgia Dome for the FIRST Robotics National Championship games.

At the Georgia Science Olympiad, teams of 15 will engineer cars called "scramblers" and test the limits of wooden towers with the weight of sand.

At the Georgia Science and Engineeering competition, solo scientists with cardboard, color-coded charts tackle everything from food preferences of mourning doves to research suggesting young women make the best eyewitnesses.

And then there are the scores of kids who assembled robots from kits with chains, rivets and motors — but no directions.

"I never would have thought I could build something like this," said Sam Crowe, a senior at Milton High School and president of the school's robotics team. Crowe spent more than 200 hours with his teammates designing and creating the robot.

Now, the machine dubbed "Off the Chain," which stands 5 feet tall and has a forklift that can pick up a 10-pound ball, is ready to roll at the Dome.

Megan Tierney, an 11th-grader at Peachtree Ridge High School in Suwanee, studied the filtration abilities of oysters. Her probing — which documented just how well oysters suck up bacteria — was good for her brain, but not so good for her stomach.

"I want to be a chemistry major in college and this project has really opened my eyes," she said. "But I can't eat oysters anymore. That was the one detriment, but I appreciate the knowledge in that respect."

Thursday afternoon at J.C. Booth Middle School in Peachtree City, freshman Cara Ludwick tested one last time the ropes and tension of a catapult handcrafted out of plywood and held steady with gallon-sized water jugs.

Last Friday, members of the J.C. Booth Science Olympiad even stayed overnight to study, practice and play games. In the wee hours, they watched the inspirational movie "Miracle" about a historic U.S. hockey Olympic team.

J.C. Booth is a Science Olympiad powerhouse, a perennial top-seeded school that has even dominated in the national games. But Cara, toting folders and still practicing Thursday evening, was not taking anything for granted.

"You just never know what they're going to throw at you," Ludwick said. "Your adrenaline is going and I want to do well. I spend my Sundays working and studying and practicing, and you want to see your hard work pay off."

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MEET THE SCIENTISTS

Jordan Moody

• Age; school: 6th grade; Trickum Middle School

• Contest: Georgia Science and Engineering

• Title of project: Crime Scene Investigations: Do age and gender play a role?

• Why this experiment? "I found a book about crime scenes at the public library and it found it to be really interesting."

• How the experiment was done: "I filmed a crime. My cousin and sister acted out the purse snatching. I asked 50 people to fill out a survey asking them details like what color was the purse? How did the suspect leave the scene? What color hair and jacket did the suspect have?"

• Findings: Females between the ages of 20 and 29 were most accurate. "I think they focus on details better and a more precise things like that."

Megan Tierney

• Age; school: 11th grade; Peachtree Ridge High School

• Contest: Georgia Science and Engineering

• Title of project: Assessing the filtration ability of eastern oysters using municipale waste water.

• Why this experiment? "I went to Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center and became interested in oysters ability to clean water."

• How the experiment was done: Analyzed water samples at 0, 15 and 30 minutes.

• Findings: The oysters were able to dramatically reduce levels of bacteria. And while oysters' ability to clean water is well established, with more testing, Megan wants to explore the possibility of creating portable water purifers for third world countries. "You wouldn't be able to drink it but you could use for such purposes as watering plants."

Sam Crowe

• Age; school: 12th grade; Milton High School

• Contest: FIRST ROBOTICS

• The robot: Five feet tall with forklift that can pick up 10-pound balls. Materials include aluminum tubing, 150 rivets, 10 motors.

• Speed: About 10 feet per second.

• Biggest challenge: Getting it to go straight. "It would always turn in one direction and we finally realized we had to drive it backwards to go straight."

Kaki Bennett

• Age; school: 9th grade; Holy Innocents' Episcopal School

• Competition: Georgia Science Olympiad

• What she said about it: "I started in sixth grade because it sounded like fun and I have loved every minute of it. Last year, the most challenging event was about genetics and I had never studied genetics before. I just kind of dived into it until I learned it and I have a pretty good grasp on it and we ended up dong well."

• About going to state championship games: "We've all worked really hard and even if we don't win, I feel like we will come out better than we started and it's great to see so many people focusing on science."

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IF YOU GO ...

A look at three major statewide science competitions about to get under way:

Georgia Science Olympiad

• What it is: Teams of 15 tackle a series of challenges, including engineering cars, answering questions on anatomy and disease transmission, and building towers that are light but can hold piles of sand.

• When; where: Today; Augusta State University

Science and Engineering Fair

• What it is: Students present research findings on projects that look at everything from birds' favorite food to the impact of pesticides to the role fathers play in the odds of having a baby with Down's Syndrome.

• When; where: Wednesday-April 5; University of Georgia

FIRST Robotics Competition

• What it is: Each team received a kit with different parts, including motors, batteries, a control system and a mix of automation components. The only thing missing: instructions. Students worked with mentors to design, build and test the robots. The robots are judged on their speed, creativity and ability to do tasks like race around a track knocking down inflated balls.

• When; where: April 17-19; Georgia Dome