NJIT Hosts Regional Science Olympiad on Jan. 16
Newark, NJ (PRWEB) January 16, 2014 -- Hundreds of students representing twenty middle schools and sixteen high schools from throughout Northern New Jersey will assemble at NJIT on Thursday, Jan. 16 from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. to compete in the New Jersey Science Olympiad Regional Tournament. Teams will participate in events designed to make science, technology and math more enticing, relevant and exciting.
Some of those events include:
Elastic Launched Glider: High school students design, build and test two elastic launched gliders. The test is to see which glider stays in air the longest.
Helicopters: Middle school students will construct and test in free flight, rubber-powered helicopters prior to the event. The goal is to achieve maximum flight times.
Mission Possible: Teams must design, build, test and document one "Rube Goldberg®-like Device" that completes a required final task using a sequence of consecutive tasks.
Judges will select six winning teams from the high schools, and six from the middle schools. Each team will win a trophy and the top scoring teams will have the chance to compete in the State Finals Tournament on March 11 at Middlesex County College.
The New Jersey Science Olympiad has been on the leading edge of educational innovations since its inception in 1993, and NJIT has been hosting the regional contest since 2007. These innovations include high academic standards; demonstration of skills through performance testing; learning through hands-on activities; cooperative learning through events that require teamwork; improved self-concept through success in achieving high standards and making applications and connections to the real world. Events are closely aligned with New Jersey Education Standards and include strong components for problem-solving, critical thinking and use of technology.
Participating high schools by county include the following:
Bergen: Rising Star Academy, Bergenfield; Pascack Hills, Montvale; Al-Ghazaly, Teaneck;
Bergen County Academies (2 teams), Paramus
Essex: Livingston; Golda Och Academy, West Orange
Mercer: Peddie School, Hightstown; The Hun School of Princeton
Middlesex: Al Minhaal Academy, South Plainfield
Monmouth: Ranney School, Tinton Falls
Morris: West Morris Central, Chester; Mendham (2 teams); Parsippany Hills; Randolph (2 teams)
Sussex: Sparta
Union: Westfield (2 teams)
Participating middle schools by county include the following:
Bergen: Rising Star Academy, Bergenfield; Haworth Public School, Haworth; Eisenhower, Wyckoff
Essex: Glenfield Middle, Montclair; Heritage, Livingston; Golda Och Academy, West Orange
Mercer: Timberlane, Pennington
Middlesex: Hammarskjold, East Brunswick
Monmouth: Avon ES, Avon-By-The-Sea; Ranney, Tinton Falls
Morris: Mt. Olive, Budd Lake; Mountain View, Mendham; Robert R. Lazar, Montville; Morristown-Beard, Morristown
Passaic: Passaic Arts and Science Charter School, Paterson Academy for the Gifted and Talented
Somerset: Hillsborough Middle School; Montgomery, Skillman
Union: Rahway; Roosevelt Intermediate, Westfield
“The New Jersey Science Olympiad brings together over 600 students with strong interests in the STEM fields for a fun day of team competition,” says John Carpinelli, professor of electrical and computer engineering and executive director of the Center for Pre-College Programs, which organizes the competition. “As New Jersey’s Science and Technology University, NJIT has a great deal of experience in these fields and is well suited to run this competition. Service is one of the four pillars of NJIT’s mission, and this competition is an important service to New Jersey’s K-12 educational community.” Nearly 50 NJIT students have volunteered to help organize the Olympiad, and several NJIT professors will act as supervisors and judges, he added.
NJIT, New Jersey's science and technology university, enrolls 10,000 students pursuing bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in 120 programs. The university consists of six colleges: Newark College of Engineering, College of Architecture and Design, College of Science and Liberal Arts, School of Management, College of Computing Sciences and Albert Dorman Honors College. U.S. News & World Report's 2011 Annual Guide to America's Best Colleges ranked NJIT in the top tier of national research universities. NJIT is internationally recognized for being at the edge in knowledge in architecture, applied mathematics, wireless communications and networking, solar physics, advanced engineered particulate materials, nanotechnology, neural engineering and e-learning. Many courses and certificate programs, as well as graduate degrees, are available online through the Division of Continuing Professional Education.
Tanya Klein, New Jersey Institute of Technology, +1 973 596-3433, [email protected]
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