Hi, I’m Eshaan! Competing in Science Olympiad was a very rewarding experience for me – I made friends, learned a ton, and even won two national medals in the process. But getting started on the right foot is crucial to making the best out of this competition, and that’s quite difficult to do without the correct advice.
This article is meant to be a quick guide to help parents and students that are new or unfamiliar with what Science Olympiad is and how it works. Without further ado, let’s begin!
What is Science Olympiad?
Science Olympiad is a competition where students compete in 23 different partner events related to biology, physics, chemistry, earth science and engineering. Events are competitions consisting of a build, a test, a lab, or some combination of the above.
Why compete?
Science Olympiad teaches two main skills: persistence, and teamwork. The teamwork element is inherent to the structure of Science Olympiad. Each event requires 2-3 people to work together in a limited amount of time, so you must work together to succeed.
The structure of Science Olympiad also values persistence. While most teams are relatively new to their event at the beginning of the year, the most successful teams improve rapidly at the start of the season and perfect their event throughout the remainder. Doing this requires considerable effort, but the effort always pays off!
What are divisions?
Students compete in 1 of 3 different divisions in Science Olympiad: Division A, Division B, and Division C.
- Division A ranges from grades 3-5 (inclusive). It is meant to provide an introduction to science.
- Division B ranges from grades 5-9 (inclusive). It is geared towards the middle school level and covers harder topics, although at lesser depth than at Division C.
- Division C ranges from grades 9-12 (inclusive). Division C covers the toughest topics and requires further depth than Division B. It is also (by far) the most competitive division.
You’ll note that students in grade 5 are allowed to compete in Division A and Division B, and students in grade 9 are allowed to compete both in Division B and Division C. However, rules vary between states – for example, a team with 9th graders competing in Virginia must solely be composed of 9th graders.
What is the competition schedule?
The structure of a year is as follows:
Division A: Invitationals → Regionals
Division B/C: Invitationals → Regionals → States → Nationals
Teams qualify to the state competition by performing well (~ top 5) in the regional competition. Similarly, teams qualify for the national competition by performing well (top 1-2) in the state competition. Qualifying for the national competition is quite difficult and requires that everyone on the team is dedicated to their events.
What are events?
Events are the competitions that a pair of partners participates in. They can be tests, labs or builds, and there are 23 total events. A school’s score in a tournament is the sum of the school’s standing in each event (lowest score wins).
How should I prepare?
The way you should prepare really depends on your familiarity with the event, and whether the event is a build, lab, or test event.
If you are just starting an event:
If the event is a test event
- Read the rules.
- Note what supplies you are allowed to bring. Some events will allow you to take 1 reference sheet while others may allow you to bring an entire binder of information. These can be crucial resources on the test, although I advise not to rely on them.
- Create the outline of a binder (even if the event only allows a cheat sheet!). The rules will contain all possible topics within the scope of the event, so your outline must contain all of these topics
- Visit the scioly.org wiki and read about your topic. Understand all the content on the wiki. For certain events (such as Road Scholar) this information alone is enough to win nationals! However, it usually is not enough.
- Review 1 (preferably difficult) invitational test (this advice best applies to Division B and C, since it can be hard to find Division A tests). This is the best way to get a grasp on what is actually being asked, and what gaps in information are remaining. One good early invitational is the Rickards invitational, hosted by Rickards High school.
- Continue going through tests and adding to your binder as needed.
If the event is a lab event
- Some lab events resemble test events. Use the same strategies for lab and test events.
- Practice makes perfect! Be familiar with what an average lab for your event looks like, and be prepared to go quickly.
- As always, the wiki (especially
If the event is a build event
- As always, read the rules. Look at the requirements and scoring: it is very easy to be disqualified even for a minor issue.
- Get working early! It’s likely you will need multiple versions of your build. If you wish to compete in an early tournament, you’ll have to work fast.
- Simple designs that are tweaked to perfection beat overcomplicated designs that are tough to implement. The consistency of your device is more important than its maximum performance, since you will have 3 or fewer tries in competition.
- Kits are helpful for some events, like Flight and Robot Tour, but are not great for most others. Avoid using kits that are not recommended by Science Olympiad, since they will not follow the rules.
If you are familiar with the event:
This is great for you! Being familiar will give you a very valuable head start, especially in the early months. You should also do the following:
- Review any rule changes – this is key for builds, since build rules nearly always change every year (to discourage competitors from reusing their old builds). This also holds for study events, as at least 1-2 new things will be added per year.
- Teach your partner the event, if they are not familiar. This shouldn’t take too long, after you’ve brushed up on what you have forgotten.
- Do more tests. This is the only surefire way to improve, once you have learned the new material, of course.