On March 16, the Hillsdale science and mathematics departments hosted the Region 9 Science Olympiad tournament for the fourth consecutive year. The tournament drew fewer students than in past years, but 300 middle school and high school students came to compete in 23 events.
Senior Luke Mugge, the event coordinator and vice-president of the American Chemical Society Club at Hillsdale, said that the event succeeded, especially with the help of the 90 volunteers.
“Based off what I heard from Dr. Hamilton and other science faculty, the event ran the smoothest – with the most efficiency and fewest number of problems – it ever has since being at Hillsdale College.”
Mugge said he has been planning the event since mid-January with Christopher Hamilton, associate professor of chemistry and Michigan Region 9 director of the Science Olympiad. Mugge added that preparations became more intense in the week leading up to regionals.
Competitions spread through classrooms in the Roche Sports Complex, Lane Hall, Kendall Hall, Strosacker Science Center and the Herbert Henry Dow Science Building – it’s common to see students dashing across campus from one event to the next.
Three sixth-grade competitors from Emerson Middle School in Ann Arbor – Biruk Tewodros, Marinos Bernitsas and Ian Greene – tore across the quad in their yellow school T-shirts to Strosacker Science Center for the heredity portion of the competition. They had just finished their rotor egg drop and felt confident since their egg didn’t break. They said they enjoyed the competition because of the variety of entries.
“I like how there are so many sections and you can always find what you like to do,” Tewodros said.
“You can always find something new,” Greene said.
All three have been studying for regionals for many months now. Bernitsas said he has been studying since before Thanksgiving.
Hamilton said he appreciates how the event offers Hillsdale students and faculty an opportunity to share with the community and allow the kids to have fun competing.
“Hillsdale faculty and students get to show why we are passionate about science – it’s a good way to give back and serve the community that we live in and work in. Seeing the kids get excited about it is really fun. They have been working hard and studying for these topics, and some of them have been building things for events,” Hamilton said.
