The WKU Department of Physics & Astronomy is celebrating the spirit and challenges of Exploration by inviting high schools to send teams of four to compete in the 2016 Western Kentucky Physics Olympics. This half-day competition, held Saturday, February 20 in Thompson Center, Central Wing on WKU's Bowling Green campus, consists of a pentathlon of challenging problem-solving activities that reward teamwork, communication and creativity.
The 2016 Physics Olympics competition will commence with two activities that involve competitors arriving at the event ready to compete with devices they have designed, constructed, and tested. Mission Procurement requires each team to design, construct, and use a package to safely transport "expeditionary supplies" through harrowing circumstances. This year's "Calculation / Communication Challenge" is titled Cavern Mapping and will require each team to divide into pairs, with one pair creating directions to locate deposited caches of specimens and the other pair following the directions to retrieve the caches. For the Zip Line Relay event, each team constructs a harness to safely transport their four biogenetic specimens from the discovery site to the staging camp. Steady As She Goes, the "On-the-Spot Activity" for this Exploration themed competition, will test each team's ability to safely load specimens for transport. The "Order-of-Magnitude Quiz" will remain cloaked in secrecy until the day of the event.
Online pre-registration is required. To ensure event materials get delivered, teams must register online before noon, Friday, February 12th.
A $600 scholarship to attend Western Kentucky University will be presented to each contestant on the top scoring team. The scholarship is to be used during the freshman year and is awarded above and beyond any other scholarships the student might otherwise earn. Medals for the team members and a plaque for the school will be awarded to the top 3 teams in the overall competition. Certificates will be awarded to the top three teams in each event.
|
Time |
Activity |
Location |
|
8:00 |
Mandatory check-in for all teams |
Snell 3110 |
|
8:30 |
Mission Procurement results announced |
Snell 3110 |
|
8:45 |
Competition begins for Cavern Mapping |
TCCW 129 |
|
10:15 |
Competition begins for Zip Line Relay |
Snell 3110 |
|
11:45 |
Order-of-Magnitude Quiz begins |
TCCW 201 |
|
12:15 |
Lunch |
TCCW 129 |
|
1:00 |
Impromptu Team Activity begins |
Snell 3110 |
|
1:45 |
Awards Ceremony |
TCCW 129 |
Please view the official 2016 Event Descriptions and Rules. This is a PDF file that requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view.
If you have questions about please check our Frequently Asked Questions list or email your question to Richard Gelerman.