Harlem High School, Hawthorn North Middle School win Science Olympiad

Online Staff Report

Hundreds of area high school and middle school students tested their wits and creativity Saturday, March 16, when they competed in the Northern Illinois Regional Science Olympiad at Rock Valley College.

Machesney Park Harlem High School placed first in Division C (high school division), while H.D. Jacobs, Rockford Auburn, Westminster Christian, Durand and Rockton Hononegah high schools placed second through sixth. All six schools will advance to the state tournament at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Saturday, April 20.

Hawthorn North Middle School finished on top in Division B (middle school division), followed by McCracken, Harlem and Rockford Christian middle schools in places two through four. Those four schools will also move on to the state tournament.

Organized to get students excited about science and raise the bar of science education in the U.S., the Olympiad is held in all 50 states and Canada. The hands-on event for high school and middle school students covers all areas of science, including biology, chemistry, physics, earth science and engineering. Testing includes everything from building rubber band-powered helicopters and bottle rocket missiles, to working hands-on with various data collecting lab instrumentation and then using that data to analyze various science-related problems.

For more information, call Evan McHugh, Ph.D., RVC director of science, at (815) 921-3488.

Posted March 19, 2013