Lee University’s Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics hosted the Tennessee Regional Science Olympiad Tournament in the Science and Math Complex on Lee’s campus.
Eleven high school teams and four middle school teams competed at the tournament, with a total of 187 competitors.
“I remember participating in similar competitions when I was in school and how those opportunities impacted me and my classmates,” said Allison Sneed, tournament director and lecturer in chemistry at Lee. “This was my first year organizing the event, and I could not have asked for a better tournament. The teams and coaches made all the frenzied preparations worthwhile, but I could not have managed without all of the faculty, student, and community volunteers.”
After the end of the day, West High School took first place with Ooltewah High School coming in second. Athens City Middle School claimed first for the middle school competition. These teams will advance to the state competition in April at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Teams competed in a variety of scientific topics including Life, Personal, & Social Science; Earth & Space Science; Physical Science & Chemistry; Technology & Engineering; and Inquiry & Nature of Science.
Lee University science students volunteered at the tournament, while several other department faculty members supervised various events, reviewed exams and events for accuracy, and served as team coaches.
Bearden High School, Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences, Cleveland High School, McMinn County High School, Ooltewah High School, STEM Co-op, Walker Valley High School, and West High School participated at the Olympiad.
Athens City Middle School, Bradley County Home Educators, and Ocoee Middle School made up the middle school teams.
For more information about the Science Olympiad, contact Ms. Sneed at asneed@leeuniversity.edu.