Over 400 Wright State volunteers helped make the 33rd annual National Science Olympiad Tournament, the second such event at Wright State in four years, a huge success.
When the first busses arrived on May 18 until they left on May 21, volunteers checked in participants, passed out meals, organized events and prepared the opening and closing ceremonies at the Wright State Nutter Center.
“Planning for this actually started 18 months ago. We’ve been working tirelessly ever since in order to try to make the tournament as successful as it is,” said Eric Rowley, the volunteer coordinator for the Wright State.
Science Olympiad tests middle and high school students’ ability to solve physics, engineering, math, biology and anatomy problems in complex hands-on and lab events.
About 2,000 middle and high school students battled it out during the national tournament in intensely competitive science and engineering projects — from Robot Arm and Hovercraft to Microbe Mission and Food Science.
The students, educators and parents from all 50 states totaled more than 5,000 — pumping an estimated $1.7 million into the local economy.