2024 Elementary Science Oympiad Event Descriptions (Division A)
– All events are for teams of 1 to 2 students unless otherwise noted (Picture This can have 3).
Bolded Words indicate a new event relative to last year or adjustment to an older one.
ALL CHARGED UP – Teams will be assessed on their knowledge of magnets, magnetism, and circuits.
BIOMASS – Each team will grow a plant from a seed, give a report of its growing conditions, and take a quiz on plant growth.
BODY BUILDERS – Teams will demonstrate knowledge of the major systems of the human body in terms of their functions necessary for human life.
BRIDGE-A-RONI – Teams will design and build, ahead of time, the lightest bridge that holds the most weight (up to 10 kg) using only pasta and glue.
CALCULATOR CONTEST – Teams will demonstrate their knowledge of problem solving using a hand- held, non-programmable calculator.
CODEBUSTERS – Teams will cryptanalyze (decode) encrypted messages using cryptanalysis techniques and show skill with ciphers by decrypting a message.
COOL IT (Calorimeter) – Each team will construct a device to keep an ice cube from melting.
DEEP BLUE SEA – Each team will work cooperatively to answer questions and identify ocean flora, and fauna, physical features and phenomena related to marine science.
GENES R US – Teams will demonstrate an understanding of traits that may or may not be inherited, be able to explain why organisms share similarities and differences, and use Punnett squares to predict inheritance patterns of certain characteristics.
IT’S ABOUT TIME – Teams will design and build, ahead of time, a non-electronic device designed to measure time and take a quiz testing their knowledge of time.
LARGE NUMBER ESTIMATION – Teams will be asked to estimate the answers to questions requiring an estimate between one and one million.
METRIC MANIA – Teams will demonstrate their understanding of metric measurement by estimating and measuring length, mass, volume, angles, and
temperature and making calculations based on these measurements (such as density).
PICTURE THIS – In this event team must have 3 students competing in a contest in which one member draws "clues" for the others to guess a science term or concept.
RABBITS AND RODENTS – Teams will be assessed on their knowledge of Minnesota rabbits and rodents.
ROBO-CROSS - Teams design and build one robot capable of performing certain tasks on a playing field.
ROCK HOUND – Contestants will be required to identify various rocks and minerals.
STARRY, STARRY NIGHT (Astronomy) – Teams will identify and demonstrate their knowledge of space exploration missions, the sun, moon, planets, stars, constellations, asterisms, and other common celestial bodies in our universe.
SUPER SLEUTHS (Forensics) – Given a mystery scenario, evidence, and a list of possible suspects, teams will perform a series of tests to draw specific conclusions about the scenario and suspects.
THRILL SEEKERS - Teams ahead of time design and build a roller coaster for a marble designed to move the marble for as long as possible using only gravitational potential energy.
WRITE IT, DO IT – This event tests a competitors' ability to communicate