Launching rubber band powered airplanes, building a 10-gram bridge capable of holding 15 kilograms and building a Rube Goldberg device to raise a flag are the kinds of things that make science fun and, on April 3, competitive.

More than 1,100 Kansas students will put their creative and scientific skills to the test in the 23rd annual Kansas Science Olympiad tournament, hosted by Wichita State University and co-sponsored by the university and Koch Industries Inc.

"Science Olympiad is an outstanding program with a strong tradition," said Susan Addington, community affairs manager for Koch Industries Inc. "It promotes analytical as well as creative thinking, and inspires young people to explore new areas and develop new skills in a fun and competitive environment. This is our first year of involvement with Kansas Science Olympiad, and we are pleased to play a part in sponsoring this program." 

Events will take place in various venues throughout the campus, starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 3. The locations and times of events that are open to the public can be found at webs.wichita.edu/scienceolympiad. 

Fifty-nine teams of middle and high school students will challenge each other in 46 events. The participating teams advanced to the state contest from five regional contests.

The two teams with the best scores in both the middle and high school divisions qualify for the National Science Olympiad to be held at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana on May 21 and 22. Kansas teams have a tradition of doing well at the national tournament.

The Kansas Science Olympiad is supported by corporate donations, with companies providing many of the volunteers needed to judge the contest. Besides Koch Industries, other contributors are BG Products Inc., Lubrication Engineers and Barton Solvents.

WSU's Fairmount Center for Science and Mathematics Education coordinates the competition and provides training to coaches each fall.