POTSDAM -- Electric vehicles, robotic arms and a host of science-oriented high school students will soon converge on Clarkson University for the Adirondack Regional Science Olympiad on Saturday, Jan. 30.

Twelve teams from nine North Country school districts will compete in 20 different events. Local competitors include Madrid-Waddington Central School, Ogdensburg Free Academy and Potsdam High School. Teams also will travel from Plattsburgh, Lake Placid Carthage and Thousand Islands High School.

The top two teams, plus a specially selected bonus team, will advance to the New York State Science Olympiad at Monroe-Woodbury High School in Hudson Valley.

Science Olympiad, which runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., includes a series of academic competitions in astronomy, geology, entomology and chemistry, as well as design challenges.

The public is invited to attend a series of building competitions in the afternoon.

The Wright Stuff Electrically Propelled Vehicle competition will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. and from 2 until 3 p.m. on the second floor of the Technology Advancement Center (#17 on the map at http://www.clarkson.edu/about/clarkson_map.pdf).

The Robotic Arm competition requires students to operate a remote controlled arm to move objects from one location to another targeted location and will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. and from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Cora & Bayard Clarkson Science Center Room 362.

The Bridge Building competition requires students to design and build a loadbearing, horizontal wooden bridge and will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. and from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Cora & Bayard Clarkson Science Center Room 360.

Science Olympiad inspires high school students to consider a career in the science, engineering, technology and mathematics (STEM) fields. The event organizer, Assistant Professor of Physics Michael Ramsdell, said several Clarkson students who once participated in the Olympiad as high school students now volunteer at the event.

"Science Olympiad inspires interest in the STEM disciplines through problem solving, hands-on design projects and rigorous academic research," Ramsdell said. "High school students experience the kind of teamwork and collaboration that is required in the workplace."