On June 24 Odle Middle School sixth grader Eshan Kemp represented Washington state at the 2013 National ‘You Be The Chemist’ challenge in Philadelphia, where he took home the top prize.
“I felt really proud of myself,” said Eshan, who studied four to five hours a week in advance of the competition. “And happy, because I studied really hard.”
Held at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, The You Be The Chemist (YBTC) Challenge is an interactive academic competition created by the the Chemical Educational Foundation as a means to engage grade 5‒8 students in learning with their peers (and their community) about important chemistry concepts, scientific discoveries, and laboratory safety. The challenge also serves to introduce students role chemistry plays in all of the sciences and in their everyday lives.
More than 20,000 students from around the country participated in the 2013 Challenge cycle at the local level.
The top 27 students – one from each participating state and the District of Columbia – and their families made the trek to Philadelphia for the chemical industry sponsored national competition.
Eshan qualified for the National competition after taking first place as the regional qualifier on April 28.
More than two hundred excited family members, educators, and chemical industry representatives gathered to cheer on the 27 national participants. After battling through nine rounds of Chemistry-related multiple choice questions, Eshan emerged as champion.
In addition to participating in the competition, competitors had the opportunity to visit Philadelphia landmarks including the Franklin Institute, the Liberty Bell and the National Constitution Center.
All National Challenge participants received prizes such as Thames & Kosmos chemistry sets, gift certificates to the Discovery Channel Store, plaques, T-shirts, bags and other giveaways. The top four placing participants received trophies, TI-84 Plus Silver Edition Calculators, and scholarships for future educational use.
To learn more about the competition, go HERE.
