Youth Science Contest open to HS students

High school students are invited to participate in the third annual Youth Science Contest, put on by the Washington Tracking Network.

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is calling on all high school students from throughout Washington to participate.

According to a release, the contest is an opportunity for high school students to develop science and communication skills by working with health and environmental data from their communities. 

“The WTN Youth Science Contest has been DOH’s most successful contest to date. We think that’s because students learn how to work with data, communicate the knowledge they’ve learned about the health of their communities, and use that data to affect positive change,” said Jennifer Sabel, WTN manager. “Since its first year, the contest has almost tripled in size.”  

 Students can choose from three tracks: 

• Health Science – students perform an analysis with WTN data to reveal correlations, impacts, and/or disparities.  
• Science Communication – students identify an issue important to them using WTN data and develop a message to increase awareness or drive action related to the issue. 
• Program and Policy Design – students use WTN tools and data to address health and equity concerns by developing a public policy proposal or working with a local organization to create or improve a project or program. 

All tracks must include WTN data, an equity focus or analysis, clear communication, and data visualization, and a reflection on the project process itself. 

Students are given two months to complete their project from February 15 – April 15.   

A panel of DOH public health professionals will judge the projects and winners will be announced in late May. 

Winners will receive a plaque and their project will be showcased on DOH’s social media and the WTN webpage. 

First-place winners will have the opportunity to meet with an expert for mentoring, project elaboration, and professional development. 

Submissions must be received by midnight on April 15. You can find more information, resources, and project examples on WTN’s contest page.