SU Hosts Maryland Science Olympiad Mar. 3

SALISBURY, MD---Salisbury University hosts the second annual Eastern Shore Regional Tournament of the Maryland Science Olympiad on Saturday, March 3. Participating are 16 teams of middle and high school students from 10 schools across the region.

From launching bottle rockets to modeling proteins, the tournament is designed to engage students in science-related topics in fun and competitive ways.

Some 39 events, in two divisions (middle and high school), are 9:15 a.m.–3:15 p.m. across the SU campus. Students explore anatomy, astronomy, chemistry, diseases, food science, forensics, forestry, meteorology and water quality, among other topics. All activities require problem solving and teamwork.

An awards ceremony follows at 3:30 p.m. with a keynote lecture by astronaut Richard Arnold II of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Arnold delivers a pre-event talk 7 p.m. Thursday, March 1, in Perdue Hall’s Bennett Family Auditorium. Admission is free and the campus and greater communities are invited.

Among those judging Olympiad events or serving in other official capacities, such as scoring, are representatives of Salisbury University, Orbital Sciences, Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Johns Hopkins University, 21st Century Oncology, U.S. Department of Defense, Booz Allen Hamilton, Lockheed Martin, Putnam Investments and the Salisbury community. Over 30 SU students have also volunteered.

Winners advance to the state tournament at Johns Hopkins University on Saturday, March 31.

For more information, call SU STEM coordinator Kristen Edwards at 410-677-5368 or visit http://www.salisbury.edu/henson/stem/scienceolympiad.html.