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High school and middle school students will compete this weekend in a design competition for the chance to represent Arizona nationally.

By La Monica Everett-Haynes, University Communications
February 27, 2008

Hundreds of Southern Arizona high school and middle school teams will have their chance at making it to a state and national competition during an event to be held at The University of Arizona.

That chance will come during the Math, Engineering, Science Achievement, or MESA, design competition for the southern region, which the UA is hosting.

Nearly 800 students are expected to flood the campus Saturday in a competition to make the best cargo bottle rocket, roller coaster, trebuchet, toothpick tower and solar water still.

"The regional competition is an opportunity for local students to test the performance devices against others and to learn from our engineer volunteers in order to improve their projects in time for the statewide MESA Day event," said Abra McAndrew, assistant director for the UA's Office of Early Academic Outreach.

Students from nearly 40 local schools will be on site.

Volunteers from the UA's College of Engineering, the University's Sustainability of Semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas center and engineers from Raytheon Missile Systems will judge the competition.

The Office of Early Academic Outreach coordinates MESA, which is a program that encourages low-income and minority high school and middle school students to take an interest in math and science and helps them to improve in both subjects.

The statewide competition will be held April 5, also at the UA. Those who fair well during that challenge earn a trip to represent Arizona in the national competition, which will be held in Maryland.