Science Olympics 2018

Thursday, April 19th 9am to 3pm at Henderson State University

In this year's Science Olympics, there will be eight different events in 3 areas (physics, engineering, and biology). Each subject area has 2 competitions - a prepared competition and an on-the-spot challenge.

Each team must choose the subject areas in which they wish to participate and must participate in both events in those subject areas. (For example, my team would like to compete in biology and robotics, so we would be participating in 4 competitions - 2 in biology and 2 in robotics) Each team may choose to participate in as many subject areas as it would like.

Teams will consist of 4 to 6 ninth through twelfth graders. Members are not required to be from the same school; however, it is often easier to coordinate a team through a school classroom. Each team will need a registered coach. The coach is responsible for keeping the team on track and helping the team to find the resources necessary to complete their projects; however, the coach may not assist the team in their events (including construction of devices). Coaches may work with more than one team.

To register, go to the form at the bottom of the page.

Physics Events:

Toothpick bridge build – This event will be completed on the spot. Teams may not bring any supplies with them. Teams will be given specific supplies and rules upon arrival.

Potato Trebuchet – Teams will construct a trebuchet in advance and bring it to the competition with them. The Trebuchet must fit within dimensions of 1m width x 1m length x 1.5m in height. This must be a traditional trebuchet (not a catapult). The trebuchet may have a release pin (not required), but all other parts must remain attached to the trebuchet. If the counter weight accidentally comes off, it may be replaced between throws. No other parts can be reattached between attempts. The teams get 2 attempts to launch. Safety goggles must be worn. The trebuchets will launch red new potatoes (approximately 2” to 3” diameter potatoes). Teams may not spend more than $50. Counter weight may not exceed 5kg. Dimensional drawings and parts lists with costs must be submitted for evaluation.

Biology Events:

Replicating DNA Pre-Built Model Showcase - Teams will present a finished replicating DNA model for judging that will be judged based on the following criteria:

• Accuracy of biological functions/portrayal
• Aesthetics of build
• Model meets all requirements

The following are the model requirements. Failure to correctly follow any requirements will result in heavy reduction in points.

• Replicating Eukaryotic DNA molecule
• Show all enzymes
• Have leading and lagging strand
• Be sure to have the replication fork present
• Minimum of 15 base pairs from parent strand
• No premade nucleotides
• Must build yourselves
• Must be 3D, no computer simulations
• Use commonly available tools
• NO SIZE LIMITS

Research and Presentation Challenge - This competition will test each team’s ability to think quickly and critically and communicate efficiently amongst the team members. Research is the keystone to progressing science, however, money from grants is difficult to attain. This competition is aimed at putting high pressure on teams to be efficient with their time and money while also effectively presenting information.

Given a set financial budget (on-the-spot), teams will find all materials needed for a specific Western Blotting experiment from available catalogs. Teams should aim at hitting the set financial budget. This budget amount is uncompromising, so total prices under or above this mark will result in deduction of points. This portion cannot be prepared in advance.

While materials are being selected, teams are also responsible for preparing an oral presentation to present to judges. Teams should research Western Blotting in advance of the competition and may bring in hand-written research notes. Notes may not contain an outline or wording for the presentation. Criteria for the presentation is listed below:

• What is western blotting?
• How is data used/interpreted?
• Give a scenario where western blotting could be used

Judging for catalog search will be based on time of completion, accuracy of materials chosen and how close to the target budget the teams are. Presentation scoring will be based on

• How presenter(s) compose themselves (good oral communications)
• Accuracy of information given
• Level of understanding of material shown when asked questions

We hope teams will leave these competitions with a better understanding of teamwork, effective communications and an eye for details.

Robotics Events:

If your team is registered in the robotics competition, your school will receive its very own programmable Mbot robot from Makeblock®, along with one extra sensor pack and starter instructions for how to begin programming.

For the robotics events, we have a limited number of Mbots. Preference will be given to schools who register within Clark County before January 22nd with a limit of 2 robotics events teams per school. After January 22nd , we will select the remaining robotics teams based on the order of registration. All Mbots will be shipped from our department on February 1^st.

For the competition, there will be two challenges for your robot: (1) an extended project – the “Pac-man maze”, and (2) the quick challenge — a simpler one-hour challenge for which you will receive instructions when you arrive on the competition day.

Quick Challenge - This challenge will be revealed on-the-spot and will require the use of your team's mbot with sensor pack.

The Pac-man maze - In this challenge you must program your robot to navigate through a Pac-man style maze while collecting dots. You will be provided with some of the information about your maze before you begin programming, but you must program your robot to be a little bit flexible because other aspects of the maze will only be revealed when you arrive.

What you will know from the start: You will be presented with a schematic of the position and size of the walls within the maze, as well as the location of the entrance to the maze.

What you will not know: Before you arrive you will not know the location of the dots within the maze, nor will you know the location of any of the exits.

Scoring: Your robot’s objective will be to make it out of the maze through one of the exits, and to achieve the lowest score possible (like in golf). There are two ways to score: time and dot collection. Each second you spend in the maze will gain you one extra unwanted point. However, each dot your robot drives over and registers that it has encountered will subtract time by the amount written on the dot. You may choose a light flash, a sound, or some other method for your robot to communicate that it has encountered a dot. It is possible (and desirable) to have a negative score.