Region VIII Science Olympiad Winners Announced
02/22/2017

Winners have been announced in the Region VIII Science Olympiad – a competition for sixth-12th graders in biology, chemistry, physics, technology, earth science and ecology -- hosted Feb. 18 at Southeast Missouri State University. C Division (high school) teams advancing were East Prairie High School in first place and New Madrid County Central in second place. B Division (junior high school) teams advancing were East Prairie Junior High in first place and Sikeston Junior High in second place. Students placing first and second at this regional competition now qualify to compete in the upcoming Missouri State Science Olympiad competition in April at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. There they will compete with the top ranking teams throughout Missouri to determine which two teams from Missouri advance to the national competition in May. Five school districts in southeast Missouri – Fredericktown, Scott City, New Madrid, East Prairie and Sikeston – participated in the Region VIII Science Olympiad at Southeast. The Olympiad featured a variety of events, hands-on-experiments and construction covering the topics of engineering, chemistry, earth science, physics and biology. About 100 students took part in the events also designed as excellent opportunities for teachers to incorporate instruction and experience, including modeling, technology and inquiry for applying the Missouri Science Standards to their classroom. “This is the most exciting science competition in which students can be involved”, said Melody Green, Region VIII Science Olympiad facilitator.  “It is a great opportunity for students to learn and do science and have fun at it too.  I have never seen students get this enthusiastic in any other science competition I have been involved with.” A range of events were held in the areas of robotic arms, electric vehicles, bottle rockets, forensics, crime busters, astronomy, rocks and minerals, wind power, hovercrafts, towers, invasive species, microbes mission and many others. The Southeast College of Science, Technology and Agriculture hosted the competition with Dr. Margaret Hill, associate professor of physics, serving as Olympiad liaison for the event.  Southeast faculty assisted with developing tests and the Southeast Chemistry Club, along with biology, physics and earth science students, supervised and judged events. “I want to say a big thank you to Southeast Missouri State University for the use of the facilities and the support from the staff and students,” Green said. Missouri Science Olympiad is a non-profit organization that operates under the National Science Olympiad, a national non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of K-12 science education, increasing male, female and minority interest in science, creating a technologically literate workforce and providing recognition for outstanding achievement by both students and teachers. These goals are achieved by participating in Science Olympiad tournaments and non-competitive events, incorporating Science Olympiad into classroom curriculum and attending teacher training institutes. For more than 30 years, Science Olympiad has led a revolution in science education. Science Olympiad continues to challenge, inspire and inform the academic and professional careers of students and instructors across America. Science Olympiad is recognized as a model program by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices in the 2007 report, Innovation America: Building a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Agenda. Science Olympiad is committed to increasing global competitiveness for the next generation of scientists. For more information, contact Green at melody_faye_g@yahoo.com or (573) 579-7213.