Media Advisory: WFU hosts NC Science Olympiad tournament
(WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., – Feb. 25, 2016) – Nearly 400 local middle and high school students will gather for the N.C. Science Olympiad tournament at Wake Forest University on Saturday, Feb. 27 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
This is the first year the regional competition for students interested in math and science will be held on the Wake Forest campus.
Events like Science Olympiad encourage students to pursue science by engaging in the subject in a fun and interesting way. The Olympiad features various scientific topics and rewards students for excelling in a passion that does not always receive celebration.
Carole Gibson, Science Olympiad regional director and Wake Forest biology professor, said hosting the event on campus allowed for more Wake Forest students to volunteer – about 150 total and double over last year – and help lead events and provide other support services.
“We are very excited about this year’s Science Olympiad and the energy our students can bring to their interactions with the public school students,” she said.
Fourteen high school and 12 middle school teams (with up to 15 students each) from Alleghany, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes, and Yadkin counties will compete in 46 different science-related events, including:
Wright Stuff – Students will design, build and test up to two elastic powered propeller driven planes capable of the greatest time aloft, (Reynolds Gym, 8:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.)
Duct Tape Challenge – A team’s ability to design and build a structure primarily from Duct® Tape to complete a task will be tested (Winston Hall 124, 10 a.m. -11:15 a.m.)
Food Science – Teams will study the science behind milk products and experiment with ingredients and other variables to produce and analyze results to produce the best dairy products by making ice cream (Winston Hall B01, 10 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.)
Elastic Launched Glider – Students will design, build and test up to two elastic launched gliders capable of the greatest time aloft (Reynolds Gym 201, 12:15 – 3 p.m.)
Scrambler – Competitors must design, build and test a mechanical device, which uses the energy from a falling mass to transport an egg along a straight track and stop as close as possible to a terminal barrier without breaking the egg (Winston Hall 210, 12:15 – 3 p.m.)
Bottle Rocket – Prior to the competition teams will design, build, and test up to two 2 liter bottle rockets that may not change shape or deploy a recovery system (no parachutes) to achieve the greatest time aloft (Davis Field, 8:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.)
Wake Forest’s Pro Humanitate Institute and the Center for Cell and Molecular Biology are sponsoring the event. Awards will be presented to the top students, who will compete in the state competition.
Registration check in will be in Winston Hall. Events will be in several locations.
A complete schedule of events is available. Please contact the news office to make arrangements.
Categories: Campus Life, Community Impact, Experiential Learning, Happening at Wake, Research & Discovery, University Announcements
Media Contact
Wake Forest News
media@wfu.edu
336.758.5237
