PennWest California to host Science Olympiad regional competition
About 400 students from school districts in 13 counties will converge on PennWest California Saturday for the Southwestern Regional tournament of the Pennsylvania Science Olympiad.
The tournament, hosted at the California campus for some 30 years, involves students from Western Pennsylvania, including Washington, Greene and Fayette counties. The Northwest Regional was held Feb. 24 at PennWest Clarion.
Student teams are challenged by various STEM-related events.
“They do different events related to science subjects,” said Dr. Candice Riley, associate professor of parks and recreation management at PennWest California. “There’s a unit where they make modified paper airplanes, there’s different exams, robotics types of events, all sorts of different things.”
Riley is one of the organizers of the Olympiad, along with Dr. Steven Brooks and Dr. Matt Price.
“I think it’s important to instill that love of science, increase that interest in science,” Riley said. “Competition is always fun. You want to do the best that you can. It’s a good way for middle and high school students to test their knowledge.”
Science Olympiad is an international nonprofit organization devoted to improving the quality of science education, increasing student interest in science, and providing recognition for outstanding achievement in science education.
About 50 PennWest California students are expected to volunteer their time to help with the Science Olympiad. Faculty members volunteer as judges.
“It’s a good way to get the university community involved,” Riley said. “We’ve reached out to student clubs and student organizations and different classes that we offer. It’s also a good recruiting tool for students who are thinking about college, they could consider our university.”
The top-performing teams are eligible to advance to the state tournament, scheduled for April 27 at Penn State Altoona.