March 6, 2014
Huge Turnout for Regional Science Olympiad Tournament
On February 15th, 2014, the Center for STEM Education hosted the annual regional Science Olympiad Tournament, welcoming approximately 600 students, teachers, and family to campus. A total of 420 middle and high school students were present for the competition representing 14 middle school teams and 16 high school teams. A total of 111 volunteers registered to participate as event leaders, event aids, and general helpers. C-STEM administered and managed all aspects of the event. The Science Education Faculty was well represented by Tammy Lee, Carmen Woodhall, Elizabeth Doster-Taft, and Rhea Miles; all of whom were event leaders. Several MSITE students were volunteers for the tournament, working as registration personnel, food service personnel, competition helpers, and other duties as needed. North Carolina Science Olympiad (NCSO) is a nonprofit organization with the mission to attract and retain the pool of K-12 students entering science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees and careers in North Carolina.
The first recorded Science Olympiad was held on Saturday, November 23, 1974 at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, North Carolina. Dr. Donald Barnes and Dr. David Wetmore were the originators of this event. Fifteen schools from North and South Carolina participated in this event. This Olympiad was a day-long affair, with competitions and demonstrations for high school students in the areas of biology, chemistry, and physics.