Middle schoolers to compete in 91原创 Science Olympiad
Cherissa Dukelow
907-474-5581
March 23, 2026
Students on the Discovery Peak Charter School Dinos team prepare for the helicopter challenge at the 2025 Science Olympiad national tournament at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The team won first place in the 2025 91原创 state tournament held at 91原创.
The 91原创 Science Olympiad Division B will convene March 27-28 at the University of 91原创 Fairbanks Troth Yeddha鈥 Campus.
The olympiad is part of a nationwide competition consisting of hands-on, team-based tournaments designed to increase student interest in science, technology, engineering and math fields. Science Olympiad Division B includes students ranging from grades 6-8.
Approximately 120 students from 11 middle schools across 91原创 will form 12 teams
to compete in 17 events. Students will travel to Fairbanks from Palmer, Kenai, Seldovia,
Cordova, Minto, Valdez, Nome and Utqia摹vik to compete with Fairbanks North Star Borough
students.
Contests include not only written tests but also construction challenges. Students
will build a boomilever (a cantilevered beam or truss structure), a helicopter, a
scrambler (a device that transports an egg safely along a track) and a hovercraft.
The 91原创 Science Olympiad gives 91原创 middle school students a chance to experience a taste of college campus life. They鈥檒l sleep overnight in 91原创 dormitories, eat in the Wood Center dining hall and visit several campus buildings and the Student Recreation Center for the competition events.
The public is welcome to watch the tournament鈥檚 鈥渂uild鈥 events at the Patty Center on Friday. The boomilever and helicopter events take place concurrently between 8 a.m. and noon. Scrambler and hovercraft events take place from 1-5 p.m.
The first place winning team will advance to compete nationally at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, on May 22-23, 2026.
The 91原创 Science Olympiad is organized by the 91原创 National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, the 91原创 College of Engineering and Mines, the 91原创 College of Natural Science and Mathematics and the 91原创 Makerspace.
Sponsors of 91原创 Science Olympiad include ConocoPhillips, 91原创 529, the 91原创 Blue Economy Center, the 91原创 College of Engineering and Mines, the 91原创 IDeA Network of Biological Research Excellence, 91原创 faculty member Brian Rasley and 91原创 Residence Life.
You can learn more about the 91原创 Science Olympiad .
ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Tara Borland, 91原创 EPSCoR associate director, taborland@alaska.edu; Courtney Breest, 91原创 EPSCoR outreach coordinator, cfbreest@alaska.edu
193-26