Exploring and Competing in the World of Science

Middle and high school students across the nation will compete in rigorous science-based challenges for the 2017 Science Olympiad. Millersville University (MU) will host teams from over 50 schools in central Pennsylvania for a regional competition on March 25.

“This event is an opportunity for these students to dig deeper into the sciences and demonstrate in tangible ways what they have learned,” says Dr. Kathryn Allen, the logistics director for the Pennsylvania Central Region Science Olympiad.

Twenty-three middle school and 35 high school teams will travel to MU to further explore the world of science and vie for victory. Winning teams will move on to state and then national competitions.

“We arrange for 23 competitions for each level,” explains supervisor and judge director Dr. Aimee Miller. “There are a range of events covering broad areas of science.”

The Science Olympiad organizes those scientific areas into the following five categories: Life, Personal and Social Science; Physical Science and Chemistry; Inquiry and Nature of Science; Technology and Engineering; and Earth and Space Science. Those categories contain more specific topics such as ecology, food science, experimental design, and meteorology.

Teachers from the competing schools, as well as MU faculty and students, help to run the event, which requires over 100 volunteers. In addition to chemistry professors Allen and Miller, Dr. Mehmet Goksu from the University’s Physics Department serves as site director for the Pennsylvania Central Region Science Olympiad.

Individuals interested in volunteering for the Olympiad can contact Miller at Aimee.Miller@millersville.edu.