How to be Succesful

The events are organized broadly by topic, such as life science, technology, and chemistry. This is useful if you are looking to sign up for events that match your specific interest.

However, there is another important distinction to be aware of. Most events can be sorted into one of two categories: study events and building events. These aren’t official terms, but a lot of schools use them, and they can be very helpful when you are trying to figure out which events to participate in.

Study events are somewhat similar to preparing for a school science class. As the name suggests, they involve a lot of studying books and articles in order to prepare, and competitions often involve completing a written test. Some study events include Anatomy and Physiology, Dynamic Planet, and Astronomy.
Building events, on the other hand, are more hands-on and require participants to spend more time creating something than book studying. The creation can be a glider, protein model, or something else. For some building events, students spend the entire year creating whatever it is they need for the event, while for other events you are required to do the building from start to finish at the competition. Some building events include Wright Stuff, Bridge Building, and Protein Modeling.

Tips for study events:

After reading the rules and getting an idea of what kinds of questions you may be asked, decide on the best way to prepare for these questions. For example, if you are preparing for an event in which you are given a list of organisms you must be able to identify, make flashcards. For events that align closely to classes you may be taking, such as anatomy and physiology, reading the textbook would be a great place to start.

Remember that most, if not all, study events allow you to bring resources in the form of note sheets, binders, and field guides. As you go along in your studying, start compiling hard to remember facts, diagrams, and anything else that would be useful to have during the competition when you are crunched for time. This way, by the end of your studying you will have at least a draft of your note sheet to work with rather than starting from scratch. The draft will also reflect which parts you had trouble with while studying, serving as a good guide for the last few days of review.

Be smart about what you include; for single note sheets, don’t waste space writing down facts you’ve already memorized; use it instead for diagrams, graphs, and other things that can be easily referred to. For binders, organization is key; this is another reason why assembling it as you study is helpful, because you’ll naturally learn the layout of the binder and will not waste precious time flipping through it excessively during competition.

Tips for build events:

Start by brainstorming ideas for designs with your peers; each person has varying strengths and can contribute insights that will go towards making the best design possible.
If different team members have different ideas about which design will work best, have each person build their own design and test them all out. In fact, this often produces the best result, because testing various designs rather than only one design will help pinpoint more ways to improve.
Make sure that you do not wait until the last second (or even the last few weeks) to start building; perfecting each structure requires a lot of troubleshooting, which can take even longer than the building process itself, so be sure to allot time for this. Some events also require that you keep a log of your trials with the structure that you will eventually be using during the competition, which is another reason to have the structure prepared well ahead of time.

Remember, refer to the rules handbook whenever you are unsure about a specification; these rules are the final verdict for any disputes during a competition, so if you adhere to them in the first place, you don’t have to worry about running into trouble and possibly getting disqualified.

How Can You Excel at Science Olympiad?

Science Olympiad is a team event, and how far you advance in competitions will depend not only on you but also your teammates. While you can’t control what they do, you can take it upon yourself to excel at your events. This can help you win awards at competitions and motivate your teammates to give their best effort as well. Follow the below tips to become a great Science Olympiad competitor.

Tip #1: Choose Events That Play to Your Strengths

Picking your events wisely is key to how well you do in Science Olympiad and how much you enjoy it. While you may not have complete control over which events you do, especially for your first year on the team, you usually can submit your top choices for consideration. There are two major things to think about when choosing events:

1. Which areas of science do you enjoy the most or want to learn more about?
2. Would you prefer study events, building events, or a combination of both?

Tip #2: Be Prepared to Put in the Time

You likely won’t do well in Science Olympiad if you don’t study specifically for your events, since most events ask questions on specialized topics or require you to use specific skills.

Doing well in your events requires regular meetings and extra study time for each of your events. Students should study at least 1 -2 hours extra each week in addition normal team practice on Wednesdays. Set up regular study times with alone or with your partners soon after you know which events you have. It may seem like the competition is a long way away at the beginning of the school year, but starting your preparation early will help you feel more confident and reduce the need to cram right before competitions.

Tip #3: Be Ready on Competition Day

The competition is when you get to show off all your hard work. Here are some tips to make sure these days go smoothly:

Know exactly where and when each of your event competitions are.
Get there early so you can set up your materials and be calm and ready when the timer starts.
Make sure you bring along all the recommended and required materials for each event (there is usually a list given out before competitions that lets you know what to bring for each event).