The Messenger 11.06.08

Plans are under way to offer a Science Olympiad for grades 6-9 Feb. 28, at the University of Tennessee at Martin.
Science Olympiad is a science-based team competition.
The goal of Science Olympiad is to improve science education, encourage teamwork and participation from all students and promote inquire-based learning. Science Olympiad Tournament events are correlated with the state as well as the National Science Education Standards.
Interested students should contact their teachers, who will organize olympiad teams.
For the first year, event organizers plan to offer 12 events during the competition. Each event is usually a hands-on activity in which each team is graded and competes against other teams. It may also include a laboratory activity in which students complete a given task and report results.
Teams should be formed in the beginning of the semester to allow for preparation time. For hints about how to start a team, visit the Web page http://soinc.org/start_a_team.
Some examples of 2009 events include amphibians and reptiles, anatomy, bio-process lab, compute this, crave the wave, disease detectives, dynamic planet, ecology, elevated bridge, environmental chemistry and fossils.
Other examples include robo-cross, science crime busters, scrambler, trajectory, “wright” stuff and write it do it. Most events are aligned with the state curriculum.
Unlike other science competitions, the olympiad is intended for all students.
For more information, coaches/teachers should contact Dr. Cahit Erkal, professor of physics at UT Martin, at cerkal@utm.edu or (731) 881-7432.
Registration for the olympiad can be completed at the Tennessee Science Olympiad Web site (www.chattanoogastate.edu/science_olympiad/somain.asp).
Those interested also may check the national Web site for event descriptions and hints for preparation (www.soinc.org), according to organizers.