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The University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) is honored to support the tradition of Science Olympiad by sponsoring the University of Texas (UT) regional tournament.
Established in 1984, Science Olympiad is the nation’s largest team-based science competition. The team structure allows students to leverage their collective knowledge and strengthen 21st Century skills such as communication, collaboration, integrated STEM content knowledge, and creative problem solving. Participation in Science Olympiad exposes students to a wider breadth of STEM fields and after-school experiences that often extend into the student’s academic and professional career.
Science Olympiad is championed and organized by teachers at local schools who coach students and facilitate student participation in tournaments.
At UT Austin, a student organization of Science Olympiad alumni (Longhorn Science Olympiad Alumni Association) mentor teams, serve as positive STEM role models to students, and organize and create assessments for the UT-Austin Science Olympiad Invitational and Regional tournaments. The organizational goals are to generate a pipeline of STEM mentorship in the Texas community such that students who matriculate Texas colleges will serve as mentors to subsequent cohorts of Science Olympiad teams and to enhance local students’ access to STEM disciplines by providing mentorship and financial support to start new Science Olympiad teams, particularly among historically underserved populations.
UTIG’s support and countless volunteer hours contributed by graduate and undergraduate students, have led to several Austin area schools launching brand new Science Olympiad programs. Additionally, the annual University of Texas Science Olympiad Invitational has become a premiere event for teams across the state. Most importantly — more and more students are exposed to science at a young age, many of whom have gone on to pursue science majors at the University of Texas at Austin.
The 2018 Regional Tournament will take place on February 24. To get involved or learn more about UTIG’s contributions, please contact Enrica Quartini.