Students from all over Minnesota will compete in the annual Science Olympiad regional competition, hosted by the I.J. Holton Intermediate School and Ellis Middle School Science Olympiad Team on Saturday at Ellis Middle School.

The Austin middle school team has 12 students who will compete Saturday. The Austin high school team will compete in a separate competition. The event Saturday is for students in grades sixth-through-12th, who will compete in a variety of challenges in areas like life, personal and social sciences, earth and space science, physical science and chemistry, technology and engineering, and inquiry and nature of science. Challenges range from building bridges, doing bio-processing labs, creating roller coasters and more.

Team competition is patterned after track tournaments with events ranging from earth science through physics. Some events require an individual from one team to compete against other individuals from other schools, but most events require teamwork, group planning and cooperation. The emphasis is on learning, participation, interaction, having fun and team spirit.

The event is open to the public, though some events may be closed due to specific challenge requirements and lab usage. The competition runs from 8:45 to 11:45 a.m. The Austin Robotics Teams will be running the concession stand for a fundraiser.

Science Olympiad has been in Minnesota for over a decade, but this will be the first time Austin will host the competition. There will be 10 teams competing from Austin, Minnetonka, Bethlehem Academy, Pine Island, Highview, Northfield, Hastings and Triton.

For more information about Science Olympiad go to www.soinc.org.