The Dart Foundation donated more than $328,000 to MSU's Division of Science and Mathematics Education to support the Michigan Science Olympiad for the next five years.

The money will fund the Science Olympiad state tournament, hosted by the College of Natural Science.

The funds also will be used to help under represented or first-time schools enter the competition.

The Michigan Science Olympiad is a nonprofit organization that pits teams of 15 elementary, middle and high school students against each other in 23 events involving science, math, engineering and technology.

Each year, about 8,325 Michigan students participate on 555 Science Olympiad teams.