Link to Official Website
Science Olympiad is a nation-wide series of STEM-related competitions that work to advance and
foster an interest in students of all ages. Every division has different events, which include
build, test, and experimental events. From astronomy to gravity vehicle, there are many topics
that are covered spanning the entire field of STEM.
I decided to do Science Olympiad in my freshman year because I felt that it would be better suited to my personal needs than robotics. I would have been more interested in continuing with robotics, but it didn't take place at the school, I likely wouldn't be able to carpool, and there was a time requirement for lab hours. I felt that Science Olympiad would be a better option that would still allow me to further my interests in STEM. I was really nervous, because at our school, everyone who wants to be on the team must take tryout tests that determine who gets on the team and if they make it onto JV or Varsity. I knew that there weren't too many other freshman trying out and that I had the least experience in the topics that would be tested, so I worked really hard to make sure my 'cheat sheets' (you are allowed one one-sided sheet per test) were top-notch. I ended up making it onto the JV team, and my events were astronomy, experimental design, and protein modeling. We did ok in competitions, but communication between the JV and Varsity teams wasn't the best and we were scored against every schools varsity teams along with their JV teams. In regionals, JV teams and Varsity teams are scored seperately, and my partners and I received second place for experimental design and protein modeling. Astronomy tends to be very competitive, so I wasn't too disappointed with that one. JV teams don't compete past regionals, so my seasons ended there.
In my sophomore year, I strongly hoped that I would make it onto the Varsity team. Being on the JV team had been fun and had less responsibilities, but I wanted to push myself and actually help our team in our effort to get to states and nationals. I studied for tryouts again, both taking some of the notes from my previous tryout tests and notes from the previous season, but also adding new information from the internet. I managed to make it onto Varsity, and my events were astronomy, protein modeling, and detector building. I was excited to have astronomy and protein modeling again, especially because I had done them before, and was interested in participating in a new event (last year was the first year they did detector building). Competitions went fairly well, and I enjoyed helping the JV parallels of my events. In regionals, my partners and I got seventh place for astronomy and protein modeling. I was really excited for the astronomy placement because it's a really competitive event and I knew that a lot of people worked really hard on that event. Sadly, states and nationals were canceled due to COVID-19, but we did qualify for states the following year (2020-2021 school year).
In my junior year, I maintained my spot on the Varsity team. My events were the same as the previous year: Astronomy, Detector Building, and Protein Modeling. Although I had been hoping to try out at least one new event that year, I think it made sense why mine were the same. Since the previous year's season was cut short, all events were the same themes as last year. Since I already had experience in those events, and especially because I had experience in the specific themes of the events that we were being tested on last year, I was the most qualified among my team mates for those specific events. Last year, we attended three invitationals, regionals, and states. At regionals, I placed fifth for Protein Modeling, but I was sadly unable to place for either of my other two events. However, our team was able to qualify for states, where we placed sixteenth. Although we didn't place as high as we have in previous years, I was still happy with how our team was able to maintain the spirit of Science Olympiad throughout that complex year. At the very end of last season, I was elected by my teammates to be a captain for following (this) year. This means that I'm one of the student leaders for the club; I help handle tryout tests, scheduling, funds, and meetings for the team. While it's a big responsibility, I was very excited to see what I could do to help the team improve and prepare for the transition back into in person.
In my senior year, I am serving as one of three student captains. It is our responsibility to facilitate communication between the coach and students, manage tryouts, assign students their events, and ensure all necessary information for invitationals and other competitions get to students on time. So far this year, we have written and facilitated the tryout tests and have just recently put together our team for this year. In part due to issues stemming from COVID-19, we had a lot of trouble finding enough people to participate in tryouts, but we were able to form our typical varsity and junior varsity teams. I feel good about the team that we have formed for this year and I'm excited to work with them throughout the year in our events and at competitions.
Astronomy: In Astronomy, students are asked to know about many aspects of astronomy, from general concepts,
to mathematics, to specific celestial bodies. It is a competitive event that requires a lot of knowledge,
which is why this is the only event in which students may have their notes on a computer and the binders
that they can use have no size limit. Computers must have wifi turned off during tests, and proctors are
often instructed to check to make sure everyone is following this rule.
Protein Modeling: This event is a mix of a test event and a build event. The build part requires students to
contruct a model of a specified protein (changes annually). The test version typically covers topics related
to the protein that students are modeling and other general information on proteins and how they affect the
body. Tests also require students to view a different protein model in an online 3D environment called JSMOL
and answer questions related to this new model. For tests, students are allowed one double-sided sheet of paper.
Experimental Design: Students are given a set amount of time to design, conduct, and asses an experiment using
materials and a topic provided at competitions. Since it changes every competition, the students are mostly
being assessed on their ability to properly follow the scientific method in varying experiments in different
subjects. Topics have ranged frmo chemistry to physics, friction to acid/base reactions. Students are only
allowed pencils, erasers, calculators, and safety goggles during tests.
Detector Building: In Detector Building, students must create a device that detects the temperature of water
by running a current through it and assessing the output to find the water's temperature. Microcontrollers,
TI-84 calculators, and many other such computers can be used. My partner and I used an Arduino Uno R3 because
I had one available at home. There is also a test portion that assesses students on concepts of electricity
and diodes.
Medals and Ribbons
Picture from Protein Modeling
Pictures from Astronomy
Pictures from Detector Building
Pictures from competitions and the team having fun (pre-COVID)
