VERMILLION, S.D. -- Sixteen of South Dakota’s middle schools and high schools are scheduled to compete in the 30th annual South Dakota Science Olympiad State Tournament at the University of South Dakota on Saturday, March 22.
Schools scheduled to participate are: Brookings High School, Dakota Valley Middle School and High School (North Sioux City), Elk Point-Jefferson Middle School, Gayville-Volin Middle School, Madison Middle School and High School, Mickelson Middle School (Brookings), Mitchell High School, Sacred Heart Middle School (Yankton), Spearfish Middle School and High School, Todd County High School (Mission), Vermillion Middle School, and Yankton Middle School and High School. In addition to the ongoing individual challenges and team events, there will be open house activities during the day, including a presentation by Sanford Research and the Digital STARLAB by the South Dakota Discovery Center.
The state tournament will involve more than 225 middle school and high school students competing in several science events. The top teams from each division will be invited to the 2014 National Science Olympiad Tournament in May. All events for the Science Olympiad are determined at the national level. For the state tournament, faculty, staff and students from USD organize and judge these events. A schedule of events can be found online at http://sites.usd.edu/sdscienceolympiad/home. For a brief description of the events, please visit http://www.soinc.org.
Science Olympiad is an international non-profit organization devoted to improving the quality of science education, increasing student interest in science, and providing recognition for outstanding achievement in science education by both students and teachers. Science Olympiad tournaments are rigorous academic interscholastic competitions that consist of a series of individual and team events, which students prepare for during the year. The competitions follow the format of popular board games, TV shows and athletic games. These challenging and motivational events are well-balanced between the various science disciplines of biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computers, and technology. There is also a balance between events requiring knowledge of science facts, concepts, processes, skills, and science applications.