BAY RIDGE— WHEN THE 2026 WINTER OLYMPICS OPEN ON FEB. 6, MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS from St. Patrick Catholic Academy will have already crowned a gold medalist – in STEM proficiency. As part of Catholic Schools Week, the middle schoolers will participate in the STEM Olympics at the Bay Ridge school on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 9:30 a.m., vying to excel in science, technology, engineering and math.
Students will be placed in mixed-grade teams to work together in a timed obstacle course of science and math problems to crown a gold medalist. The course will be set up like a reverse escape room, offering students who can solve complex STEM problems a key to get INTO the room.
Among the tasks: Students will build structures to a certain height while using wobbly materials; elsewhere, a timed math quiz will lead to a lockbox with word puzzles inside of it.
Athletics will have a role in one of the events, a physical race with a built-in surprise. For example, at last year’s STEM Olympics, the students had to figure out the best position on a low scooter for maximum speed in a relay race.
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