500 Middle, High-School Students Travel to UA for Science Olympiad

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — More than 500 students are expected to participate in the 2012 regional Science Olympiad competition at The University of Alabama Saturday, Feb. 18, beginning at 9 a.m.

The regional competition for middle- and high-school students, hosted by UA, is just one of many that will take place around the country. Winners advance to compete in state and national competitions. There are more than 12,000 schools from all 50 states who participate in Science Olympiad events each year.

Events scheduled for middle-school students include “Awesome Aquifers,” where students learn about groundwater and build model aquifers; and “Crime Busters,” which prompts students to analyze crime-scene evidence such as hair samples, DNA and fingerprints to solve a crime.

In the high-school division, students can compete in a “Microbe Mission” event, where they answer questions, solve problems, and analyze data pertaining to various kinds of microbes and diseases. Another popular high- school event is “Gravity Vehicle,” where teams design, build and test a vehicle and ramp that uses gravitational energy to reach a target point.

The events will conclude with two awards presentations at 3:15 p.m. in the Ferguson Theater and Ferguson Ballroom on the UA campus.

Alabama schools participating in this year’s event include Bankhead Middle School, Berry Middle School, Bragg Middle School, Hewitt-Trussville Middle School, Math and Science School, McAdory Middle School, Meek High School, Our Lady of the Valley School, Prattville Christian School, Prattville Junior High, Prince of Peace Catholic School, Holy Spirit Catholic School, Isabella High School, Lamp High School, Mortimer Jordan High School, Muscle Shoals High, and Oak Mountain High School.

For more information about the event, visit http://www.as.ua.edu/scienceolympiad/.

UA’s College of Arts and Sciences is coordinating the competition with the College of Engineering.

UA’s College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.