Purdue News

February 7, 1997

Indiana students face off in Science Olympiad

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- More than 200 high-school and middle-school students from central Indiana will visit Purdue University's West Lafayette campus for the fifth annual Science Olympiad on Saturday, Feb. 22.

The future scientists representing 17 schools will test their skills in 23 events ranging from anatomy to weather. The competition will be from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Room 200 of the Wetherill Laboratory of Chemistry. The awards presentation at 3:30 p.m. is free and open to the public.

Purdue's program is one of nine regional competitions being held in Indiana. The top three middle-school and high-school students in each event will advance to the statewide competition March 22 at Indiana University in Bloomington.

Participants will be from Attica, Carmel, Chesterton, Columbia City, Highland, Indianapolis, LaPorte, Marion, Rochester, Tippecanoe County, Winamac and Valparaiso.

Scheduled competitions include:

Crimebusters -- students use chemical techniques to solve a fictitious crime.
Designer Genes -- participants tackle genetic puzzles.
Bridge Building -- students are challenged to design and build the lightest bridge to carry a standard load.
Other areas of competition include aerodynamics, cellular biology, chemistry, mathematics, meteorology and earth sciences, and thermodynamics.
CONTACT: Isidore Julien, Department of Biological Sciences outreach coordinator, (765) 494-4983; e-mail, ijulien@bilbo.bio.purdue.edu

sab/julien/olympiad/no

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