More than 500 area middle and high school students will convene at The University of Akron campus Saturday, March 3, to demonstrate their science knowledge and engineering abilities at the Akron Regional Science Olympiad Tournament. A national nonprofit organization devoted to improving the quality of science education, Science Olympiad holds its Akron Regional tournament annually at UA. It is sponsored in part by Time Warner Cable.
Students take on the "Sound of Music" event at the 2011 Science Olympiad.
In all, the tournament has 46 events, including activities focused on anatomy, forestry, chemistry and optics. Engineering design events include bottle rocket, towers, mousetrap vehicle and thermodynamics.The events are prepared and supervised by a group of volunteers that includes students, faculty and staff from UA as well as the community.
"Science Olympiad provides middle and high school students with an excellent hands-on science opportunity," says Dr. Carin A. Helfer, assistant director of science education outreach for the Akron Global Polymer Academy at UA and director for the Akron Regional Science Olympiad.
"As a scientist, I enjoy seeing the enthusiasm of the participants as they compete and hope to qualify for the state tournament in Columbus," adds Helfer.
Students from 37 areas schools will compete from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., with awards presented from 4 to 5 p.m.
For more information about the Akron Regional Science Olympiad, call 330-972-6104 or visit the Akron Regional Science Olympiad.
About The University of Akron
The University of Akron is the public research university for Northeast Ohio. The Princeton Review listed UA among the "Best in the Midwest" in its 2011 edition of Best Colleges: Region-by-Region. Nearly 30,000 students are enrolled in UA's 300 associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral and law degree programs and 100 certificate programs at sites in Summit, Wayne, Medina and Holmes counties. For more information, visit www.uakron.edu.
Media contacts: Theresa Augustin, Taa20@zips.uakron.edu, or Denise Henry, 330-972-6477 or henryd@uakron.edu.