Please find (links below) information about the mail-in contest for the Middle/Elementary School
Academy of Science (MESAS) sponsored by The Center for Science Education (CSE) at USC &
South Carolina Academy of Science (SCAS), produced by faculty and staff at Universities &
Colleges in South Carolina and members of SCAS.
I have attached two MESAS Contests for your students (one for grades 4-6 “E Contest” and one
for grades 6-8 “M Contest”). Please make as many copies as you need and distribute to your
students. I hope your students have fun and learn something by competing in the contest. Each
student who participates will be recognized and each school that participates will have at least
one winner. Winners will be announced in the SCJAS and SCAS newsletters and the SCAS
Bulletin. The deadline for entry is Monday, March 1, 2021. The authors of the 2021 contest
include Dr. Don Jordan and members of SCAS. We also have significant support from the
Center for Science Education College of Arts & Sciences at UofSC.
We encourage students to use reference resources of all types, including the internet.
However, we strongly discourage parent’s assistance in finding the answers. This is a
competitive contest meant to teach the children new methods of learning and exploring. We
love the parent’s involvement, but require the students find the answers on their own for
this contest. Questions are prepared with respect to the standards for SC.
The South Carolina Academy of Science Annual Meeting will be held in the Spring at USC
Aiken, Aiken SC. We hope to announce the winners of the SC Academy of Science MESAS
Mail-in Contest by April 15, 2021
There will be lots of winners, not just one or two. We recognized at least one winner at each school
and sometimes at each grade level. Certificates and prizes will be mailed out to each student’s principal
so that the awards can be presented at the school’s Awards Assembly. We have four levels of
winners: School, Region, State, and Grand Winners.
Results will be returned to Teachers/Parents/Principals. (See contest rules next page for more details)
We also encourage MESAS students to participate in their regional science fair in March/April
of 2021. Check with your regional science fair director whose address can be found on the web
at Center for Science Education site.