A whole lot of science will be going on at North Carolina State University on Friday and Saturday, May 16-17, when the university hosts the 1997 National Science Olympiad and about 2,000 middle and high school students from 44 states. Middle school division winners will receive gold medals. The National Science Olympiad, an academic, interscholastic competition for middle and high school students, was first held in 1985.
Students attain a spot in the national competition by competing in local, regional and state events.
The national organization, the Science Olympiad, is headquartered in Rochester Hills, Mich., and involves about 12,000 U.S. schools and more than 3 million students in grades K-12 in science activities each year. The opening ceremonies and Olympiad events are free and open to the public. Events will be held at various locations across campus. Even events with catchy titles like the Naked Egg Drop involve serious science. In this event, students must design and build a cargo crate to protect an egg dropped from a high place.