Science Olympiad

This article is about competition for schools in the United States. For the international competitions, see International Science Olympiad. For the Indian competition, see National Science Olympiad.
Science Olympiad logo

Science Olympiad is an American team competition in which students compete in 23 events pertaining to various fields of science, including earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. Over 7,800 middle school and high school teams from 50 U.S. states compete each year.[1][2][3] U.S. territories do not compete; however, several international teams do compete in Science Olympiad tournaments in the US.[4]

There are multiple levels of competition: invitational, regional, state, and national. Invitational tournaments, usually run by high schools and universities, are unofficial tournaments and serve as practice for regional and state competitions.[5] Teams that excel at regional competitions advance to the state level; the top one or two teams from each state (depending on the state) then advance the national level. Winners later receive several kinds of awards, including medals, trophies and plaques, as well as scholarships.[6] The program for elementary-age students is less common and less consistent. Schools have flexibility to implement the program to meet their needs. Some communities host competitive elementary tournaments.[7]

  1. ^ 2017 Science Olympiad Membership Map
  2. ^ Science Olympiad History
  3. ^ "State Websites | Science Olympiad". www.soinc.org. Retrieved 2017-01-01.
  4. ^ "International Teams".
  5. ^ Science Olympiad Invitational Tournaments
  6. ^ "Scholarships | Science Olympiad 2017 | Wright State University". www.wright.edu. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  7. ^ "Competitive Tournaments | Science Olympiad". www.soinc.org. Retrieved 2023-05-21.