SPOKANE, Wash. —
WHO: 220 9th and 10th grade students from five Spokane public high schools: Shadle Park, Ferris, Lewis and Clark, Rogers and North Central
WHAT: 2003 Spokane MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) High School Science Competition
WHEN: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday, March 25 and 27
WHERE: Washington State University Spokane, Phase I Classroom Building, 668 N. Riverpoint Blvd., Spokane
WHY: Twenty-five to 35 student teams will be delivering presentations on various science topics on both Tuesday and Thursday (March 25 and 27). Avista Corporation, Agilent Technologies, Smith Barney and WSU Spokane’s MESA program are sponsoring this event. Volunteer representatives from the organizations have been working in classrooms with students for the past several weeks to hone their presentations. Volunteers from the sponsor companies and other community members will judge the teams. The project elements include a written report, principle or law explanation, experiment relevance and performance, visual presentation, engagement of the audience and safety.
Preliminary rounds will take place from 8:30 to 10:40 a.m. The top five teams will present in the finals between 11:30 a.m. and 1:10 p.m. with an awards ceremony to follow from 1:30 to 2 p.m. Prizes and medals will be presented to the top teams and a traveling team plaque will be presented to the classroom with the highest average scores.
The goal of MESA is to promote and support students so that they will be globally competitive and individually competent in mathematics, engineering and science with full participation of under-represented students, including African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians and women. This competition is a culmination of their classroom efforts and the participation of mentors supporting their preparation. Supporters consider this is an excellent opportunity to see future engineers and scientists in action.
Schedule of Events:
8 a.m. — Welcome & Overview
8:30-10:40 a.m. — Preliminary Presentations
10:50-11:30 a.m. — Lunch
Announce top five presentations
Complete building scoring
11:35 a.m. -1:10 p.m. — Final presentations (5 judges)
1:10-1:30 p.m. — Break
1:30-2 p.m. — Recognition & Awards
Editor’s Note:
Ask for Kirk Reinkens to arrange interviews with student participants at the event.
Student presentations include visuals and audience interaction.
