Department of Biological Sciences

students at biology day

Department Events

Biology Day - Friday, November 3, 2023

Location: Waggoner Hall, Western Illinois University

Registration: begins at 8:00 a.m.

Time: 8:15 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Registration

The registration deadline is Monday, November 1, 2023. Download the information and registration form:

Contact

For questions, please contact Mari Aanenson
Phone: (309) 298-2740
Email: MH-Aanenson@wiu.edu.

About

Biology Day is intended to provide high school students the opportunity to explore various aspects of the field of Biology as well as to participate in one of two academic competitions. Students will have the opportunity to attend many different seminars. The seminars will be directed toward advanced biology and Biology II students and will include a wide variety of topics given by both WIU faculty and students. Many of the topics will include discussions of recent research while others will focus on career issues. Students will also have the opportunity to sit in on a freshman level biology lecture. In addition to the various seminars, students will have the opportunity to participate in the Biology Bowl Competition. Finally, all students will have the opportunity to participate in the hall competition. In that competition, students move through the halls of Waggoner Hall examining the various display cases, and answering questions about those displays.

Biology Bowl

The Biology Bowl Competition is designed to allow teams of four students from different schools to compete with one another regarding their biological content knowledge. We anticipate the first contest to begin at 9:00 a.m. This may change based upon the number of schools who request to compete. Each contest will last for 15 minutes with a 5 minute intermission between contests. Due to time and space restrictions, only 12 teams will be allowed to compete. Therefore, teams will be accepted for competition based on a first-come-first-served basis. Those first 12 schools will be notified via e-mail and specific contest rules will be sent at that time.

Awards

Awards will be given for first, second, and third place teams for the Biology Bowl Competition as follows:

  • First place: individual student trophies, a school trophy, and a lab kit valued at $175.00
  • Second place: individual student trophies, a school trophy, and a lab kit valued at $125.00
  • Third place: individual student trophies, a school trophy, and lab kit valued at $100.00

Awards are also be given for the first prize winner in the Hall Competition for those students who work independently.