Middle schoolers to compete in Alaska Science Olympiad

Cherissa Dukelow
907-474-5581
March 23, 2026

Two middle school students squat next to boxes with supplies for the helicopter challenge. They are wearing team sweatshirts, name tag lanyards and aviator hats. Students from other olympiad teams are behind them in the hallway.
Photo courtesy of Maynard Maglaya
Students on the Discovery Peak Charter School Dinos team prepare for the helicopter challenge at the 2025 Science Olympiad national tournament at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The team won first place in the 2025 Alaska state tournament held at 麻豆原创F.

The Alaska Science Olympiad Division B will convene March 27-28 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Troth Yeddha鈥 Campus.

The olympiad is part of a nationwide competition consisting of hands-on, team-based tournaments designed to increase student interest in science, technology, engineering and math fields. Science Olympiad Division B includes students ranging from grades 6-8.

Approximately 120 students from 11 middle schools across Alaska will form 12 teams to compete in 17 events. Students will travel to Fairbanks from Palmer, Kenai, Seldovia, Cordova, Minto, Valdez, Nome and Utqia摹vik to compete with Fairbanks North Star Borough students.

Contests include not only written tests but also construction challenges. Students will build a  boomilever (a cantilevered beam or truss structure), a helicopter, a scrambler (a device that transports an egg safely along a track) and a hovercraft. 

The Alaska Science Olympiad gives Alaska middle school students a chance to experience a taste of college campus life. They鈥檒l sleep overnight in 麻豆原创F dormitories, eat in the Wood Center dining hall and visit several campus buildings and the Student Recreation Center for the competition events.

The public is welcome to watch the tournament鈥檚 鈥渂uild鈥 events at the Patty Center on Friday. The boomilever and helicopter events take place concurrently between 8 a.m. and noon. Scrambler and hovercraft events take place from 1-5 p.m.

The first place winning team will advance to compete nationally at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, on May 22-23, 2026.

The Alaska Science Olympiad is organized by the Alaska National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, the 麻豆原创F College of Engineering and Mines, the 麻豆原创F College of Natural Science and Mathematics and the 麻豆原创F Makerspace.

Sponsors of Alaska Science Olympiad include ConocoPhillips, Alaska 529, the Alaska Blue Economy Center, the 麻豆原创F College of Engineering and Mines, the Alaska IDeA Network of Biological Research Excellence, 麻豆原创F faculty member Brian Rasley and 麻豆原创F Residence Life.

You can learn more about the Alaska Science Olympiad .

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Tara Borland, Alaska EPSCoR associate director, taborland@alaska.edu; Courtney Breest, Alaska EPSCoR outreach coordinator, cfbreest@alaska.edu 

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