Budding young scientists from throughout the region are gearing up to participate in the 38th Annual Stanislaus County Regional Science Olympiad slated for March 11, 2023, at Modesto Junior College (West Campus Science Center). The event begins at 8:30 a.m. and will end with the awards ceremony, held inside the Agriculture Pavilion, at 4:30 p.m. More than 500 students representing area junior and senior high school students will participate in the day-long event. The public is invited to attend. Admission and parking are free.
This year’s Science Olympiad, sponsored by the Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE) and the Modesto Junior College, will have more than 125 science educators and community volunteers judging or assisting with the competition.
The Regional Science Olympiad consists of individual and team events that encourage learning in biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, problem-solving, and technology. Some events require knowledge of scientific facts and concepts, while others rely on science processes, skills, or applications. Some events require students to build devices before the competition, such as Wheeled Vehicle. For this event, Teams must design, build, and test one vehicle that uses a non-metallic, elastic material as its sole means of propulsion to travel a distance as quickly and accurately as possible.
Participating junior high/middle schools include Blaker-Kinser, Cardozo, Hanshaw, Hickman Charter, La Loma, Oakdale, Our Lady of Fatima, Riverbank Language, Roosevelt, and Ustach. Participating high schools include  Beyer, Central Catholic, Ceres, Davis, Don Pedro, Downey, Enochs, Gregori, Merced, Modesto, Modesto Christian, Oakdale, Oakdale Charter, Pitman, and Turlock.
This year’s state NorCal Science Olympiad is scheduled for April 22, 2023, at California State University Stanislaus.