Techno Science Supersite: Contests

Show off your stuff! Find a contest or competition in your field of expertise and see just how good you are.

Contests & Competitions: General, Math, Science, & Technology

General

INTEL Northwest Science Expo

This is it: the end all be all science and engineering fair for the state of Oregon. This is the place where you can see how your research and engineering skills stack up against the rest of the state in one of 16 different categories, from Behavioral and Social Sciences to Zoology.

Note: In order to qualify, you'll need to fair well (get it? fair well?) in your regional competition. For information on which regional competition to attend, please see NWSE System Information.

Ages: 5th - 12th Grades
Contact: Email nwse@pdx.edu or call: (360) 696-9939

Math

Math Counts

Calling all number crunchers, derivative doctors, theorem provers and partakers of polynomial peculiarities! If you're good with numbers, why not impress your friends and teachers as a you train to compete as a mathlete in Math Counts. In February, you'll compete in a regional competition, and if all goes well, you'll move on to the state competition and beyond. Hone your math skills and be recognized as a math force to be reckoned with.

Note: if you live in the Klamath region, be sure to check out information on MATHCOUNTS from the OIT website; otherwise, you will need to check with your math teacher for more information, and if your math teacher doesn't know anything about it, take a look at the official Math Counts web site, click on the students page.

Ages: 7th & 8th Grade
Contact: Email precoll@oit.edu or call: (541) 885-1815

Oregon Invitational Mathematics Tournament

The Oregon Invitational Math Tournament hosts the best student mathematicians of the state in one of six levels: pre-algebra, algebra I, algebra II, geometry, advanced I (precalculus) and advanced II (calculus and above). Winners receive advanced graphic calculators and the top winner will receive a scholarship as well.

Ages: 9th - 12th Grade
Contact: Email Joe Ediger

Pentagames

Math has never been so much fun! Math Tac Toe, 35-minus, CR2 (Compare, Revise,Revise), Solve That Problem and the Math Relay all combine to form the Pentagames, the wackiest combination of math and sports competition in the state of Oregon.

Ages: 7th - 8th Grade
Contact: Call: Cheryl Klampe-Van Hess, (503) 749-1918

SOML - Southern Oregon Mathematics League

Local high schools form up to 3 teams of 6 junior and senior advanced math students. The competition includes three individual events followed by a team collaboration. Competitions occur in October, November, February and March.

Ages: 11th & 12th Grade
Contact: Call: Virginia Gray (541) 552-6579

Math League Contests

Check with your math teacher to see if your school already competes against other schools in our league, if not direct your teacher to the website, and see if you can get enough students to participate in this contest.

4th and 5th Grade: Each contest (30 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes) covers basic 4th and 5th grade topics
6th - 8th Grade: these contests (40 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes) cover a wide range of topics appropriate to the grade level. Students compete with other students, and schools compete with other schools in their league
Algebra Course 1: This contest (30 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes) covers basic to difficult algebra skills for first-time Algebra students
High School: In the High School division, students compete in six separate contests (30 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes) between October of 2006 and April 2007

Ages: 4th Grade - High School
Contact: Talk to your Math teacher or email Mathematics Leagues

Science

Science Bowl

Science Bowl is a one-day tournament, a one day science extravaganza as it were. Competing in a team of four, your knowledge of science, math, computer technology, and current events will be tested in a rapid-fire question and answer tournament against other schools and clubs in your region.

Ages: 6th - 12th Grade
Contact: Email Jason L. Hairston or call: (360) 418-2906

Technology

Oregon Robotics Tournament and Outreach Program

Students! Design, build and program a robot on a team with your friends! No experience is needed! Lots of fun with LEGOs! Find out about careers in engineering and technology! Join robotics teams. Each team has 4 to 10 members. Team members can be designers, builders, programmers, documentors, and team leader. Starting in late September, each team will have until the end of November to design their robot to solve this year´s challenge. Be sure and check out the League web site or read the brochure (.pdf).

Ages: 9 - 14
Contact: Send an email message to ORTOP or call Bruce Schafer at 503-725-2915.

FIRST Robotics Competition Pacific Northwest Regional

Whoever said engineers don't live exciting lives? Try telling that to NASA, or a genetic engineer, or even Disneyland. If you don't believe me, ask any one of the 20,000 participants of FIRST from all over the world. FIRST is a high octane, adrenaline pumping competition where you and a team of fellow high school students, coaches, and mentors are given a kit of materials, a set of game rules, and six weeks to design and build radio-controlled robots that will compete in a sports-based competition.

Ages: 9th - 12th Grades
Contact: Email robotics@imtech-or.com or call: 541-757-2047 x202

Imagine Cup

Use your technological wizardry to compete against other students in your choice of a range of competitions in three main categories: Technology Solutions (includes a competition in Software design, embedded development, and web development), Skills Challenges (Project Hoshimi, IT Challenge, and Algorithm), and Digital Arts (Photography, Short Film, or Interface Design). This year's theme is Imagine a world where technology enables a better education for all. Microsoft sponsors the event, and this year's finalists win an all-expense paid trip to Seoul, Korea. Register online to compete. Competition starts November 15, 2006.

Ages: 16 and up
Contact: Visit the contact page

Willamette–TechStart Programming Contest

High school students from around the state will compete in small teams to solve challenging problems, using only a single computer, their programming skills and their wits to succeed.

Ages: 9th - 12th Grades
Contact: View their contact page

Upcoming Events

Linus Pauling Memorial Lectures : What Scientists Know and How They Know It Thursday, May 1st

Are scientific theories true because they correspond to reality? How can we know that they do, given that we have no access to reality except through experience, which scientists themselves tell us is profoundly different from the the way things "really" are?

If you can't get enough of science, and you want to be up on the latest scientific theories and debates, then you should check out the Linus Pauling Memorial Lecture Series.

OGPC: Oregon Game Project Challenge 1 May 17, 2008

Join your high school buddies and design a game for Oregon's first annual high school game programming competition. Teams of 3 to 7 students may participate by designing a game based on this year's theme of the science behind energy issues. Teams must design programs using Game Maker a free, PC-based game development tool.

OMSI Brainstorm Lecture Series: Unearthing China's Dragons – Tuesday, May 20

From Liaoning to Gansu, new dinosaur discoveries are changing the face of paleontology. We will look at some of these discoveries, where they were made, and why dinosaurs half-way around the world are important to the study of dinosaurs in North America.

Judy Sanders has worked in paleontology for 14 years as a fossil excavator in the western United States, Canada, and China, and currently works as a fossil preparator at the Utah Geological Survey under Dr. James Kirkland.

Held once a month in the OMSI Auditorium, OMSI's newest adult discussion series include presentations by experts followed by ample time for Q&A with the speakers and discussion with other participants.