Top Students Compete For Science Olympiad Title

SOCORRO, N.M. February 17, 2010 – More than 700 “intelletes” from every corner of New Mexico will put their ingenuity and knowledge to the test Saturday at the 24th annual New Mexico Science Olympiad at New Mexico Tech.

Students from 25 high schools and 24 middle schools will compete in 23 dozen events to crown the state champions.

“This is the end of the line for these students,” director Tony Ortiz said. “Science Olympiad is an academic event, but it’s also a competition. The youngsters show school spirit, camaraderie and teamwork. It’s an exciting event and winning Science Olympiad is no different than winning on the ball field for these students.”

Each team can include up to 15 members, with no more than seven seniors per team or five ninth-graders per middle school team. Teams of two students compete in each of the 23 events. The winning team receives 20 points; second place gets 19 points; and so on down to 1 point for 20th place. At the end of the competition, the schools with the most points will be crowned state champions and earn a trip to the national Science Olympiad event in Champaign, Ill., in May.

Albuquerque Academy is the five-time defending champion after amassing 400 points in 2009, handily outpacing La Cueva High (373). The Albuquerque Area Home Schoolers won the middle school competition with 383 points, well ahead of Academy (362).

The 23 events include engineering tasks, written tests and pre-built devices. The disciplines include anatomy, astronomy, cell biology, chemistry, disease detective, ecology, bridge building, design, forensics, fossil identification, ornithology, physics, remote sensing, and writing.

Each event is coordinated and judged by New Mexico Tech professors and students in various locations across campus.

– NMT –

By Thomas Guengerich/New Mexico Tech