Olympiad brings medals, fun and science to Goshen College on Feb. 18

GOSHEN, Ind. – With the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, just a few days away, athletes are likely feeling some apprehension as well as anticipation. Local middle school and high school students are also anticipating competition with the approach of the annual Science Olympiad.

Twenty-four Northern Indiana middle school and high school teams will arrive at Goshen College on Feb. 18 for one of seven regional tournaments in the Indiana Science Olympiad for their shot at state competition, and possibly national recognition.

This competition is formed around the same idea of the international Olympic Games, in that its participants will show an advanced understanding of teamwork and creativity and possess a will to succeed. Goshen College Professor of Biology Stan Grove, Goshen Science Olympiad coordinator, said, “This is an opportunity (for kids) to show their skill and creativity in scientific activities in a special day. They are rewarded with individual medals and team trophies, as in the Olympics, and this feature brings a lot of excitement.”

Thirty competitions organized around different themes in science – ranging from astronomy to meteorology, forensics to physics, will be conducted, and scores will be awarded to each individual project. In addition to the fun of building and testing bridges, dropping eggs, blasting off bottle rockets and flying rubber band airplanes, solving crime puzzlers and creating homemade battery-operated vehicles, the competitors will learn about and demonstrate sound scientific techniques.

Victory will not come easy, as more than 300 students will be competing for only three spots in both levels – middle school and high school – that will allow them to proceed to the state competition. The top school’s teams and individual students will be recognized at 3:15 p.m. during an awards ceremony.

Volunteers will oversee and judge individual event competitions; these coordinators will include Goshen College professors and community personnel who work in science fields. College students will also be on hand to help with the Olympiad competitions.

Registration for both middle schools and high schools is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. in the College Mennonite Church lobby. An 8:15 a.m. welcome ceremony follows registration in the Church-Chapel, with the first events kick-off at 9 a.m. and ending around 3 p.m. These competitions will take place in Goshen College’s Music Center, Union Building and Science Building, and are open to the public.

In the interest of time, the middle school and high school student participants will have their hands-on projects built and assembled prior to the competition. Noting the benefit to students when they are able to combine competitive science knowledge with fun and creativity, Grove said that he “hopes schools include more and more (hands-on) activities” in their classrooms.

The Olympic Games can be viewed by audiences worldwide, and the Science Olympiad competitions and awards ceremony are open to the community as well. Saturday’s events will all be held on the Goshen College campus, starting at 9 a.m. and concluding at 3:15 p.m., with awards to the top six schools.

The 24 schools that are participating include the following 12 middle schools: Bethany Christian Middle School, Boston Middle School, Goshen Middle School, Heritage Middle School, Indian Springs Middle School, Jefferson Intermediate Center, LaVille Junior High School, Manchester Junior High School, Marshall Middle School, Notre Dame School, Pierre Moran Middle School and Stanley Clark Middle School. The 12 high schools include: Bloomington South High School (team 2), Clay High School, Columbia City High School, Columbus North High School (team 2), Elkhart Central High School, Goshen High School, LaVille Senior High School, Mishawaka High School, Northridge High School, Plymouth High School, Riley High School and Washington High School.

The Goshen College Indiana Science Olympiad is supported by a number of corporate sponsors which include Bayer Corporation of Elkhart, Biomet of Warsaw, D-J Construction of Goshen, Hawkins Water Tech of Middlebury, Hertzler Systems, Inc. of Goshen, RollPak Corp. of Goshen, and Zimmer, Inc. of Warsaw.

This year’s state tournament will be at Purdue University (West Lafayette) on March 25. The top candidate’s from the state tournament will proceed on to the national competition, which is to be held May 17-20 at Indiana University (Bloomington).

The Science Olympiad began in 1983 and involves more than 12,000 schools nationally. For more information, contact Grove at (574) 535-7320 or see www.goshen.edu/bio/SciOlymp/GCSciOly.html.

– By Sheldon Good

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu/.