31st Annual Science Olympiad Kicks Off Saturday

Middle and high schools from around the state of South Carolina are hard at work in preparation for the 31st annual South Carolina Science Olympiad competitions to be held on the Newberry College campus.

Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 Middle school competition (Division B)

Saturday, March 21, 2015 High school competition (Division C)

Science Olympiad is an international nonprofit organization devoted to improving the quality of science education, increasing student interest in science and providing recognition for outstanding achievement in science education by both students and teachers. The program seeks to bring academic competition to the same level of recognition and praise normally reserved for athletic competition.

The Science Olympiad tournaments are rigorous academic interscholastic competitions consisting of a series of individual and team events for which students prepare throughout the year. These challenging and motivational events are well balanced between the various science disciplines of biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, computers, and technology. The 2015 competition includes such events as Bridge Building, Elastic Launched Glider, Disease Detectives, Fossils, Forensics, Astronomy and Experimental Design.

Olympic-style medals are awarded to the top four individual places in each event and team scores are tabulated in order to award an overall state champion. The winning schools in each division will go on to represent South Carolina at the National Science Olympiad competition to be held May 15-16 in Lincoln, Neb.

Newberry College has hosted the South Carolina Science Olympiad since its inception. On competition day, events will be held in the Colleges Science and Math Building, Eleazer Arena and MacLean Gym on the Newberry College campus. The events in the gyms are open to the public and will take place from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The public also is invited to Opening Ceremonies in Wiles Chapel at 9:30 a.m., and to the Awards Ceremony in Wiles Chapel at 4 p.m.

In 2013, Newberry College began awarding scholarships to South Carolina Science Olympiad event winners. The winning students in each of the 20 different events at this years Division C competition will receive $2,000 scholarships to Newberry College. These awards are stackable from year to year, up to a maximum award of $10,000.

Piedmont Municipal Power Agency joins Newberry College as a major sponsor of the South Carolina Science Olympiad for the second consecutive year. Their sponsorship will help to offset travel costs associated with the Science Olympiad program, including funds to allow the director to travel the state and publicize the program and funds to help facilitate travel of the state winners to the national competition.