Buffalo State College:

Press release from Buffalo State College:

Michael Canfield

January 31, 2022

Several hundred students from 24 area high schools will descend on Buffalo State College on Saturday, February 5, for the New York State Science Olympiad Lake Erie Niagara Region-Division C competition.

Students participating in the olympiad will be competing in science and engineering events, most of which will take place in the college’s Science and Mathematics Complex.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to show off the campus and our amazing teaching and research facilities to regional high school students and area science teachers,” said Elisa Bergslien, associate professor of earth sciences and science education and campus coordinator of this year’s regional competition, which includes high schools from Erie, Niagara, and Chautauqua counties. The event was held virtually last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each school involved in the competition has at least one team of 15 students competing, Bergslien said. Students work in pairs and can participate in more than one event. Thirty-one teams will compete in events in biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, computing, aeronautics, electronics, and mechanical engineering.

“This year there are 23 different events, including Ping Pong Parachute, Bridge Building, Codebusters, and Experimental Design,” Bergslien said.

There are several new events this year, Bergslien said. Bridge Building involves students building a load-bearing structure ahead of the competition that will be weight-tested the day of the event. Another new event called Trajectory, held in the atrium of the Bulger Communication Center, involves the students building a device capable of launching a projectile with precision at a ground target.

Returning favorites include Ping-Pong Parachute—plastic bottle rockets deploying parachutes weighted by ping-pong balls—held in the atrium of the Science and Math Complex, and Wright Stuff—a mini-airplane competition—held in the Houston Gym. Both are annual highlights of the competition, Bergslien said.

This press release was produced by Buffalo State College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.