UMR to host regional Science Olympiad

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On February 22, 2007

The University of Missouri-Rolla will host one of Missouri’s Regional Science Olympiad competitions this weekend, with events beginning 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 24 on the UMR campus. Middle and high school students from approximately 20 schools will compete using their knowledge of science and technology.

Science Olympiad Students will be able to compete in 40 different events this year, says Dr. Allan Pringle, Curators’ Teaching Professor of physics at UMR. “These events require a wide range of skills. Some are essentially written tests, and in others, students are asked to acquire and analyze data. Other events involve constructing devices. For example, in the ‘Scrambler’ event, students build a gravity-powered vehicle that quickly transports an egg down a track and stops as close as possible to a rigid backstop, without breaking an egg mounted at the very front of the vehicle. Students have to think fast, make rapid calculations, and quickly modify the device to make it run successfully.”

Teams are separated into two divisions, and the top four teams from each division will attend the Science Olympiad state competition in April. A national competition will be held later this year. “The teams that are serious about this treat it with the same intensity as state finals in basketball and football,” Pringle says.

Science Olympiad is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of education in the U.S.

For further information, contact Pringle by phone at 573-341-4031 or email pringle@mst.edu .

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On February 22, 2007. Posted in Events