STUDENTS TO COMPETE IN SCIENCE OLYMPIAD AT K-STATE AT SALINA

February 6, 2004

SALINA – Feathered Frenzy, Boomilever, Mission Possible, Designer Genes. Ask the middle school and high school competitors in Science Olympiad, and they could tell you a lot about the cleverly named competitive events.

Science Olympiad is a national competition that was designed to bring science and its concepts to life for students, with particular emphasis on problem-solving and teamwork skills. Participating schools form teams that compete at the regional level, with the hopes of reaching the state and eventually national competitions.

Kansas State University-Salina will be hosts for the Northwest Kansas Regional Science Olympiad competition Tuesday, Feb. 10, and Thursday, Feb. 12. Although the two dates divide the middle school and high school level teams, the competition is high both days.
“ The students and coaches have prepared for months for the events,” said Don Von Bergen, a K-State at Salina administrator and Olympiad official. Before coming to K-State, Von Bergen had been a teacher and Olympiad coach at Salina South High School for several years.

“ It is a high level of competition, and the students, coaches and parents take it very seriously,” he said. “The events cover such a broad array of science topics, from meteorology to genetics to physics and chemistry. The chance to compete at state or at the national level is a very big deal.”

The junior high competition will be Tuesday, with 14 schools competing, while 15 high school teams will compete on Thursday. Each team can enter as many as 15 students. In addition, more than 40 judges from the faculty and staff of K-State, as well as from the community, volunteer their time to design and judge events.

“ We couldn’t host this event without the generous time and energy of the judges,” Von Bergen said. “They are asked to design their events based on the Olympiad standards and rules, but they also are committed to promoting excellence in science education.”

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