Students in grades four, five and six tackle team challenges at Elementary Science Olympiad

PicMonkey CollageThe photos posted here were taken Saturday, May 2 over at Irvine’s Jeffrey Trail Middle School, where teams of students from a half-dozen Orange County schools participated in the latest Elementary Science Olympiad.

Presented by the Orange County Department of Education, the Olympiad was established to promote STEM learning through hands-on activities that draw connections to the real world. Kids in grades four, five and six must think critically, communicate and collaborate as they tackle logistical challenges aligned with new state standards and 21st-century skills. Previous events have featured clay boat-building, map reading and egg drops.

IMG_1980The six schools that participated Saturday were Fletcher Elementary School in the Orange Unified School District; Golden and Tynes elementary schools in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District; Malcom Elementary School in the Capistrano Unified School District; Landell Elementary in the Cypress School District; and Newport Heights Elementary in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.

When all was said and done, a team from Malcom had earned gold medals at the event, a Landell squad took silver, and bronze medals were awarded to teams from Landell, Fletcher and Newport Heights.

For more information about the Orange County Elementary Science Olympiad, go here.