MESA Day Promotes Fifth Annual Middle School Science and Engineering Competition

Post date

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3/5/2009

CONTACT:

VANCOUVER, Wash. - Southwest Washington Math, Engineering, and Science Achievement program (MESA) will host its fifth annual middle school science and engineering competition, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 21 at Clark College.

MESA Day is a festival of learning, discovery, competitions, activities, and fun events that encourage camaraderie and spark interest in careers related to the fields of math, science, and engineering. Both middle school and high school students from the Evergreen and Vancouver school districts will have the opportunity to showcase design, problem solving, mathematical and communication skills on a competitive basis at this MESA Day event.

Schools will compete in the pre-built trebuchet competition and a math Olympiad. Students from separate schools will work in collaborative on-site design teams to take on integrated engineering challenges. Parents and family members are invited to attend the events of the day, including a parent seminar, "College Readiness 101." An awards ceremony will conclude the event.

MESA brings resources into schools to help close the academic achievement gap and build a pathway to careers in engineering and science for students who are underrepresented minorities in these fields-African American, Latino, Native American, and girls. Southwest Washington MESA is housed at Washington State University Vancouver. In addition to the Evergreen and Vancouver School Districts, Southwest Washington MESA partners include 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø, Clark College and Hewlett Packard.

"Our students always look forward to participating in this event," said Arnetta Burney, Director of Southwest Washington MESA.

Interested volunteers can contact Burney at, 360-546-9355.

91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø is located at 14204 N.E. Salmon Creek Ave., east of the 134th Street exit from either I-5 or I-205, or via C-Tran bus service. We offer 16 bachelor's degrees, nine master's degrees, one doctorate degree and more than 35 fields of study. Visit us on the Web at

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