CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – The Virginia Science Olympiad State Tournament took place at UVA this weekend, bringing students together from across the Commonwealth to compete and practice their skills in science, technology and engineering.
The tournament’s events ranged from knowledge tests to building robots, giving students the opportunity to compete as teams in STEM-oriented challenges.
“This is really an opportunity for them to dig into something that they wouldn’t necessarily get a chance to do inside the classroom,” said Alex Siragy, Science Olympiad coach and science teacher with Tandem Friends School.
Students from Charlottesville’s Tandem Friends School were among the participants as returning top performers in the tournament’s robotics contests.
“The students can choose which events they want to work on; the events are highly specialized,” Siragy said. “So, it gives them a chance to feel like they’re an expert in a particular field and really hone their craft at becoming an expert — and feeling like they can do something really challenging and succeed at it.”
Siragy encouraged more schools to participate in the Virginia Science Olympiad.
“I speak from not only the coaches side, I also was a competitor when I was in high school, and it’s a really awesome experience that allows students to bond over subject matter that is really challenging, but also really, really fascinating to them and lets them experience a competitive environment that’s outside of a sports environment,” Siragy said.
For more information on the Virginia Science Olympiad, click here.
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