'Science Olympics' take over Calgary's Olympic Oval

The annual Calgary Science Olympics took place at the Olympic Oval over the weekend.

More than 900 students competed in a variety of challenges that allowed them to experience new ideas while having fun.

“Students come, they participate in a number of different challenges that allow them to explore engineering and geoscience, try their hand at solving some novel challenges and get a chance to work in a group, exercise their creative thinking and problem-solving skills and have a great time,” said Keely McPhee, Calgary Science Olympics’ outreach manager.

Unlike a science fair where students bring in projects they have worked on, students at the Science Olympics are presented with challenges and construct their solutions on-site.

“Today we built a robotic arm,” said Shivam, a Grade 12 student from Henry Wisewood High School. “It’s programmed with all of our electronics and mechanical parts from our robotics team.”

Awards were handed out at the end of the day for the best designs.

For more information on the Calgary Science Olympics, check out the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta’s website.