Science Olympiad

     Every year, a hundred and twenty middle and high school teams from across the nation meet to participate in one of the most prestigious science competitions, the National Science Olympiad Competition. The competition covers a wide variety of topics, going to an extent that students would not normally learn in school. Want to be an epidemiologist? They’ve got an event for you. An ornithologist? No problem. How about an electrical engineer? They’ve got that too!

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     Science Olympiad starts in each school with the formation of a Science Olympiad team. Usually composed of about twenty students, team members work hard to learn and put together resources in preparation for the regional competition, typically hosted around January. The regional competition tests the students’ grasp of a few events. The top few teams will then advance to the states competition, usually held in March. The first place team in each state goes to nationals, where the top scoring team will be declared the national champion.

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     There are 23 events in both Division B (middle school) and Division C (high school). These events cover the disciplines of astrology, biology, earth science, engineering, chemistry, physics, as well as “inquiry” events that test your understanding of science itself. Some of these events involve studying and taking tests, some involve doing an experiment, while others involve building different machines and structures to accomplish different tasks.

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     The most important part of Science Olympiad isn’t what you learn (that’s important too), but the skills you gain. Through Science Olympiad, you learn research and thinking skills, work ethics, and build many friendships. These can all last you for a lifetime.

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     If you have a chance, try out for your school’s Science Olympiad team. Information about tryouts will probably be distributed in your school, and if not, asking will never hurt. The skills you will gain and the friendships you will build will last a lifetime, and are worth the time you put into Science Olympiad.