Newberry College to Host 33rd Annual South Carolina Science Olympiad Competition

High school students from around the state of South Carolina will converge on Newberry College on Saturday, March. 25 for the 33rd annual South Carolina Science Olympiad high school competition.  These students have been hard at work for the past several months working to prepare themselves for the preeminent science competition in the United States.

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 Science Olympiad program hopes to bring academic competition to the same level of recognition and praise normally reserved for athletic competition.  The tournaments are rigorous academic interscholastic competitions that consist of twenty individual and team events which are well balanced between the various science disciplines of biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, computers, and technology.  The 2017 competition includes such events as Towers, Anatomy and Physiology, Disease Detectives, Rocks and Minerals, 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 school will go on to represent South Carolina at the National Science Olympiad competition to be held May 19-20 at Wright State University in Dayton, OH. 

Piedmont Municipal Power Agency joins Newberry College as a major sponsor of the South Carolina Science Olympiad for the fourth consecutive year.  Their sponsorship provides much needed assistance to offset travel costs associated with the Science Olympiad program, including funds to allow the director to travel the state and publicize the program, as well as funds to help facilitate travel of the state winners to the national competition.   Through this generous sponsorship, the state Science Olympiad program continues to grow.  The 400 participants expected this year represents the largest number in decades, and last year the South Carolina Science Olympiad program was recognized as one of the top three states nationwide in annual membership gains over the previous year.

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

As students advance through school, the perks of participating in the Science Olympiad program grow. In 2013, Newberry College began awarding scholarships to South Carolina Science Olympiad event winners at the state high school competition in March.  The winning students in each of the 20 different events at this year’s high school competition will receive $2000 scholarships to Newberry College.  These awards are stackable from year to year, up to a maximum award of $10,000.  

For more information about the South Carolina Science Olympiad program, contact Bret Clark, Director, at 803-321-5255 or bret.clark@newberry.edu.