Coast Southwest is once again a proud sponsor of this year’s California state You Be The Chemist scholastic competition! You Be The Chemist is an interactive academic contest created by the Chemical Educational Foundation for students in grades 5-8, encouraging the exploration of chemistry concepts and their real-world applications.
It’s a fun and and exciting opportunity for companies like Coast Southwest to help in educating young minds about STEM, which ultimately drives future innovation and economic growth for everyone. In 2018, that’s even more important than ever before.
How the competition works…
Once students complete a qualifying multiple choice test, they have the opportunity to compete at the Local and State You Be The Chemist Challenges. At these levels, students compete individually in a quiz bowl format, testing their chemistry knowledge. The highest scorer at the Local and State levels then has the chance to advance all the way to the National Challenge in June, held in Washington, D.C.
The California State Challenge phase of the competition will take place Sunday, April 29, at 5:00 PM at the Discovery Cube Orange County. We’ll be on hand, as in past years, to cheer on all the brilliant young minds on display.
Why is You Be The Chemist so important?
You Be The Chemist Challenge creates an incredible opportunity for schools, educators, community partners, and members of the chemical industry – like Coast Southwest – to come together and show their support for furthering STEM education.
Advancing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education for a new generation of researchers, scientists, and leaders is critical for the continued success and economic growth of the United States.
Stoking innovation that’s needed more than ever
The United States was known as the global leader in science, research, and innovative developments from the 1800s-1990s, but today, that reputation has become endangered. In 2016, Japan ousted the USA as the world leader in patent filings and Asian organizations outperformed the USA in every single metric in 2017, according to the Top Global Innovators report from Clarivate Analytics.
By spotlighting STEM subjects with competitions like You Be The Chemist, we can educate, empower, and inspire a new generation of innovators to invent, build, and discover the next round of advancements, while maintaining American competitiveness. By fostering STEM education, companies like Coast Southwest foster innovation and their own long-term prospects.
Future growth depends on STEM
Workers with STEM skills are the fundamental building block needed for the continued growth and economic success of the United States.
STEM-related jobs grew at three times the rate of non-STEM jobs between 2000 and 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and this skyrocketing pace is expected to continue in coming years. In fact, experts predict millions of jobs using STEM-related skills will need to be filled in the future.
The need for a future STEM-educated labor force is real, and fostering excitement about science with You Be The Chemist is a great way to prepare our next generation of workers. The students at today’s You Be The Chemist competition will be tomorrow’s leaders in business, technology, and science – and drive our economic growth in the decades ahead.
Fun, exciting, and academically challenging competitions like You Be The Chemist are perfect opportunities to expose a new generation of innovators to the infinite possibilities of science, while enriching their own futures. So Coast Southwest is proud to support You Be The Chemist once again by sponsoring California’s 2018 competition!
