ISU physics to host Science Olympiad April 1

Spectators are welcome. 

Students will compete with water rockets, hovercrafts, windmill generators, and gravity powered egg racers, compete in a forensics challenge, test their knowledge of geology and compete in several other fun science events. 

 Seventh- through ninth-grade students from throughout eastern Idaho will represent their schools and communities and compete in teams in a variety of science competitions.  Participating schools are Alameda Middle School, Hawthorne Middle School, Holy Spirit Catholic School, Burley Junior High School and West Minico Middle School. 

Winning teams will be encouraged to compete in the state competition in Nampa on April 8.  The Idaho champion team will be invited to compete in the National Science Olympiad at Indiana University in May. 

The Science Olympiad is a national non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of science education, increasing student interest in science, and providing recognition for outstanding achievement by both students and teachers. 

ISU physics Professor Steve Shropshire and students from the departments of geosciences, biological sciences, physics, computer science and mechanical engineering will serve as judges, along with several scientists and engineers from the Idaho National Laboratory. 

The Kiwanis Club of Pocatello will be awarding cash prizes to the schools of the winning teams to support science education.  All events are open to the public. 

More information on the Science Olympiad program is available at www.soinc.org.

For more information on the ISU Science Olympiad, contact Shropshire at shrostev@isu.edu, or 282-2212.