Budding young scientists from throughout the region – including those in two schools from Riverbank – are gearing up for the 33rd Annual Stanislaus County Regional Science Olympiad slated for Saturday, March 2 at Modesto Junior College (West Campus Science Center). The event begins at 8:30 a.m. and will end with the Awards Ceremony at 4:30 p.m., held inside the Agriculture Pavilion. More than 550 students representing area junior and senior high schools will participate in the day-long event. The public is invited to attend. Admission and parking are free.
This year’s Science Olympiad is sponsored by the Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE), Modesto Junior College, Education Foundation of Stanislaus County and the Mother Lode Mineral Society. Derek Madden, Biology Professor from MJC, and Cheryl Goulart, Student Events Program Coordinator from SCOE, are coordinating the event. They will join more than 150 volunteers who will judge or assist with the competition.
The Regional Science Olympiad consists of individual and team events that encourage learning in biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, problem solving and technology. Some events require knowledge of scientific facts and concepts, while others rely on science processes, skills or application. Several events require students to build devices prior to the competition, such as Roller Coaster. For this event, students design and construct a roller coaster track to guide a vehicle that uses gravitational potential energy as its sole means of propulsion to travel as close as possible to a target time.
The following junior high/middle schools are participating: Blaker-Kinser, Cardozo Middle School, Creekside, Hickman Charter, Hickman Middle, La Loma, Modesto Christian, Oakdale, Our Lady of Fatima, Prescott, Riverbank Language Academy, Roosevelt, Sacred Heart, Turlock, Ustach and Whitmore Charter. The following high schools are participating: Beyer, Central Catholic, Central Valley, Davis, Enochs, Gregori, Merced, Modesto, Modesto Christian, Oakdale, Oakdale Charter, Pitman, Turlock and Whitmore Charter.
The top four teams in each division will advance to the Northern California (Nor Cal) Science Olympiad State Finals. This year’s state Science Olympiad is scheduled for Saturday, April 6 at California State University, Stanislaus in Turlock.
