Science Olympiad is when forty to fifty schools,
through out our state, bring one or two teams of twenty students, in fourth,
fifth, and sixth grade, to Auburn University, to compete in twenty-two science
events. Each event requires one to five students from a team, and each student
on the team usually competes in two to three events.
This year Science Olympiad is on Saturday, March
8th,
from 9:00am to 4:00pm, at Auburn University. In order to help prepare for this
competition, after school sessions are being held from 2:00pm to 3:00pm, on
Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, during December through March. Some of the students
will also need to prepare at home. Below is a description of the twenty-two events and links to various
sites that will help the students to study. Any parents of Cary Woods’
students, who would like to assist in coaching one of these events, should
contact Mrs. Webb, the Academic Venture teacher.
Also below, are links for the event schedule at Auburn University and for the Cary Woods’ Science Olympiad T-Shirt.
| A
IS FOR ANATOMY- This event will consist of a
written test in which the contestants will view models, slides, and
pictures to identify organs from the following human body systems.
Both structure and function will be tested in a series of written
questions.
Systems- Skeletal, Muscular Digestive, Respiratory, Circulatory, Urinary, Nervous, Sensory, and Endocrine |
| AERODYNAMICS - Each two-member team will build one paper airplane to be flown a distance of at least five meters, but not more than 12 meters, landing on a predetermined target. Airplanes must be of a folded aerodynamic design. Crumpled wads of paper do not qualify. |
| BARGE BUILDING -The purpose of this event is to construct a barge using aluminum foil that can support a cargo of the largest number of pennies without leaking. |
| BRIDGE BUILDING - Students are to test their ability to build a lengthy, strong, stable, and reproducible suspension bridge, using 50 straws and 20 straight pins, that will support a chalkboard eraser for 10 seconds. |
| CALCULATOR CONTEST -This is an individual event for students to demonstrate their knowledge of problem-solving using a hand-held, non-programmable calculator. |
| CAN RACE - The students will make and bring to the contest one can racer which will race and complete with other teams in a drag-race format. |
| DEEP BLUE SEA - This event will test students knowledge about oceanography. This includes fauna and flora as well as physical features, phenomena, geography, vocabulary and scientific equipment. |
| DON'T BUG ME - The contestants are to distinguish insects from non-insects, identify various body parts, characteristics, habitats, ecological significance, life cycles, and major classes and orders of arthropods. |
| ELEMENTS, COMPOUNDS AND MIXTURES - The objective is to test the ability of the student to classify materials into one of three categories. |
| GRAB A GRAM - Teams of two students cooperate to pick up given materials in a n amount not to exceed fifty (50) grams. There will be at least two rounds of competition using different substances in each round. |
| HOT AIR BALLOON - This event requires a team of three students to build and to fly the paper hot air balloon. The balloon must be pre-built and brought to the competition. |
| LEAF AND TREE FINDER - One participant will be asked to identify various trees by using an identification key and leaf and tree part samples. |
| MAP READING - Individual contestants will be given two-part questions which can be answered by using various kinds of maps. |
| NAME THE SCIENTIST - Students will be required to identify prominent scientists and their contributions to their fields. |
| NO BONES ABOUT IT - A team of two students will identify bones an pictures of bones at stations throughout the room. They will also be required tot answer questions found on cards at the stations pertaining to bones. Only the SCIENTIFIC NAMES of the bones will be accepted as correct. |
| ORIENTEERING - Each team receives an instruction card. This card tells the players their starting positions as well as bearings which direct them from marker to marker around the course. Players copy down the letter on each marker along their route. |
| PENTATHLON - Five physical skills are interspersed with science questions in an obstacle course that will be run in a relay race style where each student passes the balloon to the next students. The team must be balanced with 2-3 boys and 2-3 girls. |
| ROCK HOUND - Students will identify various rocks and minerals, and describe their characteristics. |
| RUBBER BAND CATAPULT - The team will design and construct a catapult device to shoot a rubber band at a target that is placed within a given range |
| SIMPLE MACHINES - The participant will be asked to identify, use and answer questions about simple machines. |
| STRAW EGG DROP - Each pair of students will make a device to hold a raw egg made out of straws and masking tape to be provided on site. The device containing the egg will be dropped from a fixed height to a target. The winning pair of students will be those shows egg survives the drop and is closest to the target. |
| WRITE IT/DO IT - This event tests competitor's ability to clearly communicate in writing and follow written directions. |