Eagan High School students work on a chemistry challenge during Saturday’s Science Olympiad Border Battle at UW-River Falls. Students spent the day rotating among different competitions. Top-performing teams and students received medals and trophies during closing ceremonies. UWRF photo 
 

Alumni return to help make Science Olympiad a success 

Affinity for their college, event and science prompt ongoing support 

Jan. 28, 2025 - Amy Zingsheim’s connection to the Science Olympiad Border Battle runs deep.  
  
As a Menomonie High School student, Zingsheim’s interest in all things science was sparked by her involvement in the Science Olympiad Border Battle, an annual event at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls where about 900 high schoolers participate in science competitions of all sorts.  
  
In fact, Zingsheim wound up attending UWRF, where she graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees, because of her Science Olympiad participation.  
  
“Were it not for my taking part in Science Olympiad here, I probably wouldn’t have come to UW-River Falls,” said Zingsheim, who graduated from UWRF with bachelor’s and master’s degrees. “The feel of this campus, the friendliness of people I felt at that event, I realized this was the place for me.” 
  
During her time at UWRF, Zingsheim volunteered at the Science Olympiad, further building her affinity for the event. Now a science teacher at Clear Lake High School, Zingsheim returned to campus Saturday for this year’s Science Olympiad with a team of student competitors, the school’s first appearance at the event since 2014.  
  
“Being here with my own team this year, I really feel like this has come full circle,” Zingsheim said. “I love to see my students having the same kind of great experience I did when I was their age.” 
  
Zingsheim is one of many UWRF alumni and community members with personal ties to Science Olympiad who were involved at this year’s event, which attracted nearly 900 participants from 40 high schools across Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota. More than 100 volunteers – many with UWRF connections – made the event possible.  
  
“To see so many people with ties to our university volunteer and return as coaches of student participants, it’s such an amazing feeling,” said Jamie Schneider, Science Olympiad director and a UWRF chemistry professor. “To me, that shows that we truly are a community campus.” 
  
Science Olympiad is an international nonprofit organization created in 1984 to improve science education by increasing student interest and recognizing outstanding scientific achievement. Science Olympiad tournaments lead up to regional competitions and then state and national events.  
  
Like Zingsheim, some UWRF alumni who are now educators brought their teams of high schoolers to compete in Science Olympiad. Others who took part in past Science Olympiads volunteered at this year’s competition.  
  
Count Ian Carter and Kiana Johnson among them. The duo, who graduated from UWRF with education degrees, helped oversee the “Write It, Do It” event at Saturday’s Science Olympiad. They volunteered at the competition during their college days and said they’re happy to continue to do so.  
  
“It’s great to be here and see kids get so excited about science,” said Carter, a science teacher at New London High School. “Every kid here is into science. This is a place where they can be in their element and be around others who love science like they do.” 
  
Johnson, a science teacher at Vel Phillips Middle School in Oshkosh, echoed that sentiment and said Science Olympiad offers a place where students can turn their book learning into hands-on applications.  
  
“Students here are extending the science they’ve learned beyond the classroom,” she said. “They’re taking their knowledge to the next level.”  
  
Eden Prairie High School students Ella Heelan, a senior, and Zane Uffa, a freshman, said they appreciated the opportunity to see if the device they created to shoot a ping-pong ball at various targets for the “Air Trajectory” category actually worked.  
  
“That’s pretty close,” Heelan said as the ball landed just inches from its target in the short-distance portion of the competition. However, their two shots at the long-distance target fell far short.  
  
“We realize we need to make more adjustments for the long shots, to have more air pressure to make the ball go further,” Uffa said after the competition. The day-long competition consisted of 28 different events with such titles as “Fossils,” “Horticulture,” “Codebusters” and “Experimental Design.”   
  
Such trial-and-error learning is at the heart of science and is exactly what Earl Blodgett, a retired UWRF physics professor, had in mind when he started UWRF's Science Olympiad in 2012. He oversaw the virtual geocaching event that was part of Saturday’s competition.  
  
“It’s really great to see so many students involved with this, to see so many students enjoying learning more about science,” Blodgett said. “To see how this event has grown since it started, it’s heartening.” 
  
Blodgett’s wife Marguerite recalled the arduous task of getting the initial Science Olympiad up and running. UWRF faculty, staff and River Falls community members stepped up to make the event a reality, she said, and they continue to do so.  
  
“This event only happens because so many people step up to help out,” she said. “That sense of community and everyone pulling together is part of what makes UWRF a special place.” 
  
Zingsheim looks back fondly on her time at UWRF and how it positively impacted her. She looks forward to bringing more students to future Science Olympiads.  
  
“It’s really great for these kids to be around others who celebrate science,” she said. “These kids are appreciating and learning from each other, and that’s really what this event is all about.”