SPOKANE, Wash. — On March 26 and 27, 300 ninth and tenth grade students (150 each day) will converge upon Eastern Washington University’s Cheney campus for the annual Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) High School Science Competitions from 8 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. in both the Pence Union Building (PUB) and Patterson Hall.
Each day about 40 teams will deliver presentations on topics centered on scientific inquiry, understanding scientific systems and solving science or Engineering problems.
All of the ninth graders will focus their efforts on the testing of trebuchets they have designed and built.
In addition, each team will make an oral presentation regarding the design, construction and performance (distance, accuracy, and power) of their trebuchet and answer judges’ questions.
The tenth graders will complete a scientific inquiry project on a topic of their choosing.
They may select any principle, concept or law from any scientific discipline, interdisciplinary area or Engineering field.
The teams will compete in two areas, technical paper (documentation of their experiments) and oral presentation (summarizing project details), all of which are rated by judges who are business and industry professionals within the Spokane area.
Students prepare for two months with volunteers from Avista, Eastern Washington University (EWU), Gonzaga University, L & S Engineers, Whitworth University, and Agilent Technologies who serve as mentors for research, planning and development of team projects. Employees from Washington State University Spokane, EWU, Whitworth University, L & S Engineers, Coffman Engineers, Avista, Agilent Technologies and other companies will serve as judges for their papers and presentations.
Preliminary presentations and trebuchet performances will be from 8:30-11 a.m. in both Patterson Hall and the PUB multi-purpose room (please see attached event schedule). Finalists compete in trebuchet performance from 11:35 a.m. to 1:10 p.m. in the PUB multi-purpose room. Recognition and awards are scheduled from 1:20-1:45 p.m. Ninth grade students compete on Wednesday and tenth grade students on Thursday. Both days activities follow the same time schedule. School and team winners from these competitions receive awards and prizes.
The goal of MESA is to provide globally competitive and individually competent students in mathematics, engineering and science with full participation of under-represented students, including African Americans, Latinos(as), Native Americans, and females of all ethnicities. This competition is a celebration of their efforts and an excellent opportunity to see young scientists in action.
The Spokane MESA center is one of six centers in the state of Washington. It was founded in 1989 and serves approximately 400 students each year at eighth, ninth and tenth grade levels. Spokane MESA is supported by both Washington State University Spokane and Eastern Washington University through staff support to maintain a high level of service to the Spokane area schools.
About WSU Spokane
WSU Spokane is the urban campus of Washington State University, a land-grant research university founded in 1890. The campus features advanced studies and research in health sciences and health professions, the design disciplines, education, social and policy sciences, and science and technology. WSU is one of just 95 public and private research universities with very high research activity, according to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classifications. In addition, “U.S. News & World Report” ranks WSU as one of the top public research universities in the nation.
Note to Editors: For optimal visual footage, see the full schedule of events at https://wsunews.wsu.edu/storymedia/pdf/event_schedule08.pdf.
To arrange for on-site interviews with student participants at the event, please ask for Terrie Ashby-Scott.
