What is Science Olympiad?

Science Olympiad is one of the highlights of our academic year.  It is a fun and exciting competition for middle and high schoolers that tests students' knowledge of various science topics and engineering ability.  Nationally, over 15,000 schools compete each year.

Think of Science Olympiad like the sports Olympics.  It's a competition that consists of a series of team events covering a variety of academic topics for which students prepare throughout the academic year.  These challenging and motivational events are balanced between the various science disciplines:  biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, engineering and technology.  There is also a balance between events requiring knowledge of science concepts, process skills, and science applications.

The Austin Area Homeschoolers (AAH) Science Teams - both Middle School and High School - have regularly advanced to the State-level competition after placing in the top at Regionals.  Both the Regionals and State competitions are held in the spring, which means that our spring semester is crazy busy!  In addition, we attend invitationals, or practice tournaments, in the fall or early winter.  Regionals is a one-day event in Austin or San Antonio, and State is a two-day event at Texas A&M in College Station. In spring of 2016, the Middle School team made it to Nationals for the first time.

In Olympiad, a team of fifteen students competes in twenty-three events.  Most events require two team members, and a few require more.  the events are either knowledge based (e.g., written tests on rocks and minerals, optics, or anatomy), hands on (e.g., lab experiments), or engineering based (e.g., construction of a device to do a specified task).

Knowledge-based events generally have teams either taking a test or analyzing data.  Examples of such events are Meteorology, Entomology, and Anatomy.

Hands-on events generally consist of teams performing experiments or interacting with physical objects to achieve a certain goal.  Some example are Write It/Do It, Experimental Design, or Crime Busters (forensics).

Engineering-based events have teams construct a device following specific parameters to accomplish a specified goal.  Examples include Mission Possible (Rube Goldberg machine), Boomilever (balsa wood structure), and Rotor Egg Drop.

Two-person teams work together throughout the academic year to prepare, and during the competition they collaborate during the event.  Middle school teams are often coached by knowledgeable adults, usually one of the team members' parents, or mentored by high school students.  The high school students seek guidance and expertise in the community, as needed.

The list of events and rules for events are updated every year to keep the competition interesting.