More than 400 students in 22 teams from area middle, junior and senior high schools will compete in the Regional Science Olympiad from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. The event is held annually on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus.
Science and engineering-related activities will take place across campus throughout the day in the Vadalabene Center, the Peck and Science buildings, and the Biotechnology Lab in University Park. An awards ceremony honoring top performers in a wide range of categories will take place at 3:30 p.m. in the Science Building auditoriums.
Hosted by the Center for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Research, Education and Outreach, the event engages the participants in hands-on science activities. Science Olympiad is a team-based competition for students encompassing all areas of science, including biology, chemistry, earth science, physics and more.
“The students who participate in the day’s activities utilize science concepts and inquiry skills, as well as engineering processes and technology through a range of tests, which include everything from paper tests to lab investigations to construction and design,” said Sean Herberts, outreach coordinator for the STEM Center. “Much like the Olympics the event is named for gold, silver and bronze medals that are awarded to students. The teams with the best overall scores are awarded trophies and sent to represent the region at the state competition.”
The state competition will take place April 20 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The national competition will follow May 18 at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.
For more information about the Edwardsville Regional Olympiad visit siue.edu or contact Sean Herberts at the STEM Resource Center, (618) 650-3065, or herbertscience@gmail.com. For details and a list of competing institutions check out stemideas.org.