nordic invitational

On February 17, 2018, Stemnova hosted Norcal's first student-run middle school Science Olympiad™ invitational with over 600 attendees. Science Olympiad™ is a national science and engineering competition which encourages students to pursue diverse science fields and use application-based and conceptual learning to build models, answer questions, and form solutions. From building hovercrafts, thermal-insulator devices, and laser boxes, to testing epidemiological models, navigating currents through Google Maps, and identifying rocks and minerals through characteristics like luster and hardness, students were able to apply months of learning.

The morning started with 30+ Stemnova volunteers setting up the venue, Irvington High School, to accomodate the hundreds of students and parents. Not only were students able to test and build models, but they also visited other events such as rollercoasters and towers, while also talking to real life STEM professionals at various booths stationed around the campus. Students talked to educators from UC Berkeley's ATDP as well as the cloud-computing startup in San Francisco, Rigetti. 

Throughout the day, students competed in various events from Disease Detectives to Anatomy and Physiology. There were a total of 23 events. Finally, towards the end of the day, students, educators, and parents alike all shuffled into the theater for the awards ceremony. 

Fremont Mayor Lily Mei gave a keynote address regarding the importance of the collaboration between science and politics to create solutions everyone in the community could experience. Founder and CEO, Isha Sanghvi, also gave a short speech about the birth of Stemnova and the importance of conceptual experimentation in the field of science. 

Winners for each event were announced. Individual winners from each team received medals, while overall winning schools received a championship trophy and a $100 certificate from Ward's Science. Congrtulations to Miller Black for winning 1st place! 

​The first innaugural Nordic Invitational was a success and could not have been possible without the support of our allies: Rigetti, Ward's Science, Ohlone for Kids, ATDP, and Jobscopia.