Thousands of middle and high school students from around New Mexico will swarm the UNM campus tomorrow at the New Mexico Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement Inc. Jamboree.
The jamboree is an academic competition where 2,000 students from more than 30 school districts vie for trophies and bragging rights in categories designed to test students' knowledge and creativity, said Brendon Gordon, western region coordinator for NM MESA.
Competition categories include: Junkyard Speaking, an event based on "Junkyard Wars" but incorporates communication skills; the MESA USA National Engineering Design Competition, in which students create a vehicle from a mouse trap that is navigated on different tracks by each team; Lego Robotics, where students construct a fully-programmed robot to complete a maze; and three on-site competitions in math, science and engineering, Gordon said.
He said there are also contests for those who are more artistic.
The 100 teams are invited to participate in designing a MESA Spirit Banner, which will also be judged.
"The teams have been preparing and practicing for this for a while," Gordon said. "They all want to win."
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Gordon said the events will be judged by various science and engineering professionals from around the state. Judges have been chosen from Kirtland Air Force Base and Sandia National Laboratories, among others.
According to the organization's Web site, NM MESA was founded in 1982 and has grown to provide thousands of students with year-round support and career guidance.
"We are the premier pre-college program in the nation," Gordon said.
MESA, funded by the state and from donations from federal agencies, is able to offer great opportunities and scholarships to the organization's members, Gordon said.
"We are hoping to make math and science fun," he said. "We really want to push them."
Gordon said UNM was chosen as the venue for the Jamboree due to its central location and because it can offer participants future educational opportunities.
"A lot of our good students go to UNM," he said. "There is a lot of promotion, and this impacts the students when they are deciding where they want to go to college."
According to a UNM news release, the jamboree will also feature the UNM climbing wall, various exhibits and booths and music. Various college recruiters from schools around the state will also be present.
Gordon said he is looking forward to this weekend and is optimistic that MESA's 16th annual Jamboree will be a success.
"With only 13 people putting this event on, there is something that always goes wrong," he said. "But we are quick to get things resolved."
Gordon added that while he is excited, the students are even more so.
"This is a great thing. The kids get really competitive," he said. "But teamwork is what this thing is really about."
