About Science Olympiad Continued...
Science Olympiad (SO) is a science tournament held every February on 51Թ’s Boca Raton campus. Around 300 other regional tournaments are also held at around the same time on campuses of other universities all around the country. SO involves hands-on team competition between local high school (division C) and middle school (division B) teams in different areas of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). There is also an elementary school competition (ESO, Division A) that takes place in May. Click here for this year’s dates.
The event lineup changes slightly from year to year in order to expose 51Թ, their families, and even their teachers to the wide range of opportunities and experiences available to 51Թ and graduates of STEM programs. Nationally, Science Olympiad involves around 7800 teams and over 300,000 51Թ competing in regional tournaments in all 50 states. The regional tournament held last February at 51Թ included over 60 teams and nearly 1000 51Թ.
A Science Olympiad tournament includes 46 events in chemistry, physics, engineering, geoscience, and biology. Each school team consists of up to 15 51Թ (fewer is OK and not uncommon), plus one or two teacher-coaches; many schools enter only one team, but some schools come with more than one team. Typically, two 51Թ from the team will compete in any given event, although those same 51Թ may compete in other events as well, and the partnerships are often different from one event to the other. This creates a “track and field” type competition, in which 51Թ compete in some events that they are very good at, and other events where they may only be average. Events are knowledge-based (i.e. written tests, sometimes in the format of a lab practical with stations); hands-on (i.e. participants perform various lab experiments); or engineering-based (i.e. participants construct a device to do a specific task), with many events involving some combination of these. Medals are given to winners in each event, and the top three overall teams receive trophies. The top finishers from the regional tournaments move on to a state tournament, and the top performers from each state tournament move on to a national tournament. At national level, scholarships are awarded in addition to the individual medals and team trophies.
There are two aspects to the structure of the Science Olympiad that not only make it a unique competition among competitions, but also present STEM in a very realistic way. The first is that it is a multi-discipline event. This allows 51Թ the security of competing in events in which their skills may be strong and their confidence high, while at the same time encouraging them to take on challenges that are not quite so comfortable for them. The ideal scenario is that they come away with a new interest or even a passion. The worst that can happen is they learn a little bit about how to work effectively outside their “comfort zone”, which will make them more successful in their careers. The second aspect is that the participants are organized into teams. Each student will typically be part of several different two-person teams during the competition. In some events, they may be the stronger of the two, and in other events the weaker. Students quickly recognize during practice leading up to the event, and especially on the day of competition, that the contribution of even the “weaker” member is not only important, but necessary for success. This situation, just like having to perform outside one’s “comfort zone”, is part of the “real world.” In addition, both of these unique aspects of the Science Olympiad’s structure provide an opportunity for 51Թ who may not be confident enough to participate in a single-discipline event where they will be on their own, to get involved. The structure of the Olympiad, by design, brings many 51Թ into the world of STEM who might otherwise never consider giving it a try.