(rdnewsNOW/ Ian Gustafson)

By Ian Gustafson

Mystery Challenges

Central Alberta students take part in APEGA Science Olympics

Apr 26, 2025 | 5:33 PM

Local students were put to the test to complete a series of mystery challenges at the APEGA Red Deer Branch Science Olympics.

On Saturday, over 75 students from seven different central Alberta schools participated in two mystery challenges, which were designed by professional engineers and geoscientists.

The students were split up into teams by divisions, which were Grades 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12 with each challenge catered to their age level.

They had to use their knowledge and skills to solve the challenge and were evaluated at the end by judges on how well they solved the challenge.

Malcolm Martinez, APEGA central Alberta Branch outreach lead said the goal of the event is to inspire students to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

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They’ve already seen positive results.

“I give presentations to first year engineering students at RDP and in fact, one of them came up to me after and said the reason why he was in engineering is because he did these Olympics,” Martinez said.

(rdnewsNOW/ Ian Gustafson)

They were given over an hour to complete each challenge and the students could earn a medal depending on how the judges felt they did.

The’re judged on various metrics such as teamwork, innovation, and the performance of the item built. Martinez couldn’t get into the specifics of the challenges because they reuse them in other Olympic events across the province.

With a main goal of having fun, the kids learned skills such as problem solving, teamwork, and critical thinking.

“This year, all of our challenges involve accomplishing a certain task. The students are given a kit of materials and they have to assemble those materials to complete the assigned task. Some of the challenges also have a store, so they need to buy materials with a set amount of fake money. This teaches them a little bit about engineering economics. They have to use their money wisely to determine what materials they’re going to buy.”

(rdnewsNOW/ Ian Gustafson)

The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta is the regulator of engineering and geoscience in Alberta, safeguarding the public by enforcing professional and ethical standards.

The APEGA Red Deer Branch Science Olympics is an annual event that typically takes part in April or May.

“To me, [seeing the reactions of the kids] means a lot. At one point in time I was a student and I didn’t know what an engineer was,” he said. “I think reaching out to the students, getting them to do these challenges, and learn a bit about engineering they get the opportunity to figure out what they might want to do in the future.”