The Walnut Springs Middle School Science Olympiad Team competed at the Region 6 Central Ohio Competition held on Saturday, March 9, at Grandview Heights High School. The event was well attended with schools from Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Hocking, Jackson, Knox, Lawrence, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, and Scioto counties.
The team worked hard on their science-related events including Technology and Engineering; Physical Science and Chemistry; Earth and Space; Life, Personal, and Social Science; and Inquiry and the Nature of Science.
Members of this year’s team are eighth graders Aeris Bates, and David Treaster and sixth graders Kristin Zastudil, Charlie Campbell, Hailey Buehrer, Olivia Smith, Caroline Williams, Abby Johnson, and Katie Detter. Walnut Springs has longstanding history with Science Olympiad, having competed since 1998.
Ohio Science Olympiad (https://ohso.osu.edu/) is a chapter of Science Olympiad (https://www.soinc.org/), a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to:
- Improve the quality of science education
- Increase interest in science
- Attract more students to science careers
- Foster teamwork
- Emphasize the problem-solving aspects of science
- Develop a technologically-literate workforce
Each year, more than 4,500 students from around the state of Ohio make up 300+ teams that compete in the program. Tournament competitions consist of 46 hands-on events in multiple STEM disciplines that require preparation, commitment, coaching and practice throughout the year.