Reposted from Symbiosis, the UNCG Biology Department Newsletter
The UNCG Biology Department has been hosting the North Carolina Science Olympiad Greensboro Regional Tournament for over a decade. The 2013 Greensboro Regional Tournament was held on February 23rd and 29 schools (15 middle and 14 high schools) sent a total of 52 teams to participate in the tournament. More than 800 students from 7 different counties in the Greensboro region participated. This year’s competition had over 60 faculty and professional event leaders and 75 student volunteers.
The North Carolina Science Olympiad is a non-profit organization with the “mission to attract and retain the pool of K-12 students entering science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees and careers in North Carolina.” The North Carolina Science Olympiad is funded completely by donations and corporate sponsorship, including Time Warner Cable’s Connect a Million Minds’ program.
The students participated in over 40 events and competitions integrating and combining knowledge of many different scientific disciplines, including biology, chemistry, physics, and many more. Events ranged from traditional exams that tested knowledge to complex set-ups challenging student ingenuity and creativity.
In the Sounds of Music event, middle school students built and designed two different instruments based on a 12 note tempered scale; these instruments could be based on real instruments or be a completely novel design. Each instrument had to be played by the student and in this year’s tournament they had to play a major scale, a required melody, (‘Theme Movement #2 New World Symphony’) and an additional melody of their choosing.
For more information about the NC Science Olympiad, visit http://www.sciencenc.com.