IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 1/29/08 CONTACT: PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
SILVER CITY—Western New Mexico University will host the 17th annual Southwest Regional Science Olympiad on Saturday, Feb. 2. Approximately 368 middle school and high school students will compete in the Olympiad in hopes of qualifying to participate in the New Mexico State Science Olympiad in Socorro.
New Mexico middle schools participating in the Science Olympiad are from Anthony, Bayard, Deming, Hatch, Magdalena, Silver City, Socorro, T or C, and White Sands Missile Range. High Schools participating are from Deming, Hatch, Magdalena, Silver City, Socorro, and T or C.
“We are delighted to host this event,” said WNMU President John E. Counts. “The Science Olympiad is exciting and beneficial for everyone who participates. A great deal of hard work is involved in preparing for this challenging event and, regardless of the outcome, all of the students are winners, because they have chosen to strive for and excel in the sciences.”
The Science Olympiad begins with registration at the Castorena Administration Building at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday followed by a general assembly at the Besse-Forward Global Resource Center Auditorium at 8:30 a.m. The competition begins at 9 a.m. in locations throughout campus including Harlan Hall, Brancheau P.E. Complex, Martinez-Fall Building and Phelps Dodge Building. Awards will be presented to individuals, teams, and coaches at 3:30 p.m. at the closing ceremony in the Global Resource Center Auditorium.
“We have experienced very good participation from schools in the region. I expect this competition to be a great one,” said WNMU Professor Bill Norris. “This is a real team effort from the university awarding WNMU scholarships to participants from the top three winning schools to the Office of the President providing the lunches for all of the participants as well as the trophies and the team medals. In addition, the Science Olympiad would not be possible without the support of the WNMU students, faculty, staff, and especially the community members who supervise the activities.”
Students will compete in more than 30 events including Amphibians and Reptiles, Anatomy, Astronomy, Bio-Process Lab, Cell Biology, Chemistry Lab, Circuit Lab, Crave the Wave, Disease Detective, Ecology, Electric Vehicle, Experimental Design, Five Star Science, Food Science, Forensics, Health Science, Herpetology, Meteorology, Metric Mastery, Oceanography, Physics Lab, Reach for the Stars, Remote Sensing, Road Scholar, Rocks and Minerals, Science Crime Busters, Science Word, Scrambler, Simple Machines, Sound of Music, and Write It Do It.
The public is invited to attend the events in the Brancheau PE Complex Room 251 (Intramural Gym) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Those events include competition in Balloon Launch Glider, Boomilever, Tower Building, and Wright Stuff.
For more information, contact Professor Bill Norris at 538-6625.
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