BINGHAMTON, NY – Binghamton University will host the Southern Tier Science Olympiad competition, starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at various locations on the University campus.

More than 400 area high school students representing more than 15 schools will face off in a day-long series of contests designed to test their knowledge in diverse fields such as chemistry, cell biology, earth science, astrophysics, structural engineering and technology. A total of 22 different events will be held in Science Library classrooms, Science 2 laboratories and the Lecture Hall, testing students' engineering and scientific skills.

The public is invited to attend a hands-on activity and demonstration section at 2 p.m. and an awards ceremony at 3 p.m. Both activities will be held in the Lecture Hall lobby. The winning teams will move on to the state competition, March 14-15 at Killenberg Memorial High School, Uniondale, N.Y. The National Science Olympiad Tournament will be held at the University of Central Florida, May 16-17.

The Science Olympiad is a national non-profit organization devoted to improving the quality of science education and creating a passion for science. The Olympiad provides recognition for outstanding achievement in science education by both students and teachers. Its mission is to "promote and improve student interest in science and to improve the quality of K-12 science education throughout the nation."

This event is sponsored by the Binghamton University Chemistry Department and the Binghamton section of the American Chemical Society.

For more information about this program, contact Paul Tanui at ptanui@binghamton.edu or (607) 777-4205.