- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock /news-archive/tag/annie-camp-junior-high/ ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Thu, 04 Apr 2019 15:49:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host Arkansas Science Olympiad April 6 /news-archive/2019/04/04/arkansas-science-olympiad-2/ Thu, 04 Apr 2019 15:49:19 +0000 /news/?p=73910 ...]]> This weekend nearly 300 middle and high school students from across Arkansas will convene at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Saturday, April 6, to show off their science skills in the 9th annual Arkansas Science Olympiad. The state competition, which is coordinated through ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s STEM Education Center, runs from 9 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. on campus. Students will compete for prizes and the chance to advance to the to be held May 31-June 1 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where Bill Nye the Science Guy will greet the teams. All of the teams participated in regional tournaments to advance to the state tournament. Regional tournaments were held at Northwest Arkansas Community College and Arkansas State University-Newport. This year’s state Science Olympiad features 44 events – 22 for middle school students (grades 6-8) and 22 events in the high school division (grades 9-12). Each event presents a challenge that students have to solve within a time limit. Medals will be awarded in each event, and trophies awarded to the highest-scoring teams. “Science Olympiad is all about problem solving and learning how to balance competing ideas,” said Eric Kaufmann, professor and director of undergraduate studies of mathematics and statistics and state director of the Arkansas Science Olympiad. “In Boomilever, students are asked to design a cantilever beam, which is as light as possible but holds as much weight as possible. They need to go beyond what they learn in the classroom.” Participating schools include Annie Camp Junior High, Cabot Junior High School South, Central Arkansas Christian School, County Line High School, County Line Junior High, Forest Heights STEM Academy, Haas Hall Academy in Bentonville, Haas Hall Academy in Fayetteville, LISA Academy Chenal, LISA Academy North, LISA Academy North Middle School, LISA Academy West, LISA Academy West High School, Little Rock Central High, Little Rock Christian Academy, Nettleton High School, Nettleton Junior High School, Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School in Little Rock, Sylvan Hills High School in Sherwood, and The Academies at Jonesboro. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty assisted with this year’s events – from devising the competitions to running them. In addition, undergraduate and graduate students will assist. Here’s just a few of the creative challenges the students will have waiting for them when they get to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock:

Boomilever – Teams design and build a boomilever supporting a minimum load and to achieve the highest structural efficiency.
Circuit Lab – Participants complete tasks and answer questions about electricity and magnetism.
Codebusters – Teams will cryptanalyze (decode) encrypted messages using cryptanalysis techniques and show skill with advanced ciphers by encrypting or decrypting a message.
Density Lab – Participants compete in activities and answer questions about mass, density, number density, area density, concentration, pressure and buoyancy.
Designer Genes – Participants solve problems and analyze data or diagrams using their knowledge of the basic principles of genetics, molecular genetics and biotechnology.
Elastic Launched Glider – Prior to the tournament, teams design, construct, and test elastic launched gliders to achieve the maximum time aloft.
Fossils – Teams demonstrate their knowledge of ancient life by completing tasks related to fossil identification and classification.
Protein Modeling – Students use computer visualization and online resources to construct physical models of the CRISPR Cas9 protein that is being engineered to edit plant and animal cell genomes and answer questions about the chemistry of protein folding and the interaction of structure and function for model proteins.
Anatomy & Physiology – Students demonstrate understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the human body systems: cardiovascular, lymphatic and excretory.
Chemistry Lab – Teams complete tasks and answer questions about the science processes of chemistry focused in the areas of physical properties and acids and bases.
Disease Detectives – Participants will use investigative skills in the scientific study of disease, injury, health and disability in populations or groups of people.
Meteorology – This event emphasizes understanding of basic meteorological principles with emphasis on analysis and interpretation of meteorological data, graphs, charts and images.
Mystery Architecture – Teams will be given a bag of building materials and instructions for designing and building a device that can be tested.

]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host Arkansas Science Olympiad April 6-7 /news-archive/2018/04/04/arkansas-science-olympiad/ Wed, 04 Apr 2018 14:37:42 +0000 /news/?p=70031 ...]]> The opening ceremony begins at 6 p.m. Friday, April 6, in Dickinson Hall lobby, and competitions run Saturday, April 7, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. around campus. Students will compete for prizes and the chance to advance to the National Science Olympiad to be held May 18-19 at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. This year’s Science Olympiad features 42 events – 21 for middle school students (grades 6-8) and 21 events in the high school division (grades 9-12). Each event presents a challenge that students have to solve within a time limit. Medals will be awarded in each event, and trophies awarded to highest-scoring teams. New this year is the Raye Montague Trophy, which will be awarded to the highest-ranking majority female team. The award is named in honor of Arkansas native Raye Montague, an engineer for the U.S. Navy who in 1970 created the first computer-generated rough draft of a naval ship. She was given a month to complete the assignment and finished the task in 19 hours. (Raye Montague is also the mother of David Montague, director of eLearning and professor of criminal justice at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock.) “One of the goals of Science Olympiad is to encourage more women to participate in the sciences, and we encourage them through competition,” said Eric Kaufmann, professor and director of undergraduate studies of mathematics and statistics, and state director of the Arkansas Science Olympiad. The competition started with just seven teams in 2011; this year 29 teams are competing. This is also the first year for multiple regional tournaments with earlier competitions held at Northwest Arkansas Community College and ASU-Newport. Participating schools include Central Arkansas Christian School in North Little Rock, Benton High, Sylvan Hills High in Sherwood, Parkview Science and Arts Magnet in Little Rock, Lisa Academy West, Lisa Academy North High, Lisa Academy North Middle, Lisa Academy Chenal, Haas Hall Academy in Fayetteville and Bentonville, Little Rock Central High School, County Line High in Branch, Nettleton Junior High and High schools, The Academies at Jonesboro, Little Rock Christian Academy, Cabot Junior High and Annie Camp Junior High in Jonesboro. “It’s definitely growing,” Kaufmann said. “Our entire goal was to get students excited about science, and there’s an enthusiasm in these students. Science Olympiad just brings it out.” About three dozen ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty have a hand in this year’s events – from devising the competitions to running them. Scientists from ��Vlog��ýMS, the Arkansas Geologic Survey, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, Museum of Discovery, Central Arkansas Astronomical Society, and the Little Rock Zoo also are helping run the events. In addition, about two dozen undergraduate and graduate students will be assisting as community service. “It’s really a tremendous outreach program,” said Thomas Clifton, interim dean of the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “Our community partners really help us make this event a success, and our own students get very involved. It’s our hope that every middle school or high school student who participates in Science Olympiad feels the excitement that comes from solving a problem and reaching a goal.” Here’s just a few of the creative challenges the students will have waiting for them when they get to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock: Battery Buggy – Students bring their pre-built buggy to the event and are given a set distance their buggy must travel. They must design a cart to travel that exact distance in the quickest time and stop at the target point. Mystery Architecture – Student have 30 minutes to design, build, and test a structure (bridge, tower, or cantilever beam) using unknown materials. Wright Stuff – Students design, build, and launch rubber-band powered balsa wood airplanes. The plane that stays in air the longest is the winner. Game-On: Students are given a theme and have 50 minutes to design and develop a computer game using the program SCRATCH. Hovercraft – Students take a written test that covers mechanics, and then they build a craft, which must travel from Point A to Point B in a certain time. Missions Possible (Rube Goldberg Machine.) The challenge: Build a simple machine in the most complicated way possible. Towers – The team that designs the lightest tower that supports the most weight will be declared the winner. Potions and Poisons – Chemistry challenge based on household poisons and venoms found in nature. ]]>