<p>Hey peeps of CC,</p>
<p>Airight so my friend and I just decided, what the hell we will start a science olympiad club. One small problem though. How in the world do we join one? Any ideas? Any training material on the web? Our state in NY btw. Any insights from people who do this?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Ask your science teacher. They should be able to get the stuff needed to start or know where to look.</p>
<p>Here's the link to the National Science Olympiad page, which will give you an idea of what goes on.<br>
<a href="http://www.soinc.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.soinc.org/</a>
It's a somewhat time consuming competition, particularly if you participate in the engineering events where you have to build things. About half of the events are engineering, the others are tests only. I think most teams have about 15 students, with 2 students participating in each event, so each person does 2, 3 or 4 events. It can also get expensive when you have to buy parts, supplies and batteries, plus if you make it to the state competition you have travel, hotel and food expenses. </p>
<p>You don't have to parfticipate in each event; some schools don't have enough students so they only do some events. In some states SO is VERY competitive, in some it's not. In our state we have 5 or 6 regional events, and the top 3 in each region go to the state competition. The top team in each state goes to nationals. (Some very populous states with a lot of money may send 2 teams to nationals.)</p>
<p>The competition itself takes about 6 or 7 hours, with numerous events scheduled at the same time, so it can get tricky getting where you're supposed to be and making sure you don't have events that conflict. </p>
<p>My suggestion is to find a school in your area that already competes and go talk to their coach and some of the students. </p>
<p>There is also a SO forum where the students discuss all things science olympiadian. I don't think I'm allowed to post that link, so just google: science olympiad forum</p>
<p>You also need a teacher who is willing to sponsor you. There's a lot of paperwork, organization, travel plans, etc., which is time consuming, in addition to practicing and going to the competitions. Our coach doesn't do anything at all with helping the students with the events; he only does the organizational stuff. If you have to travel to the competition you'll need a couple of large vehicles to transport your engineering projects.</p>
<p>i meant to tell you what over30 said but he/she beat me to it, drat</p>
<p>Thank you all very much especially over30. I deeply appreciate it.</p>
<p>We probably can get a teacher actually several teachers. The engineering projects are what gives me hope of actually doing well. Our school has a FIRST robotics team in which i am a member so i can get some people from. Also we have a JETS team so they could also help.</p>
<p>My question is would you guys suggest training all this year from say January 2005-June 2005. And the join next years competition or just join this year? Thanks for all your help.</p>
<p>I'm a mom, with a son who did this for 6 years. Our school always wins our regional and usually comes in 2, 3 or 4 at state. Our regional comp is moderately competitive and state is very competitive. Truthfully, our students generally don't spend a lot of time preparing. I've had boys in my garage all night the night before the competition putting stuff together. Of course some of the events take longer to build than others. The first year or two will obviously take more time, but after you've done the tests and built the projects it gets easier. Based on our experience, you could start soon and be ready for your regional comp. in February. </p>
<p>Having said all of that, at some schools SO is very time consuming. In fact it is a class at some schools, and they have practice every day from Sep to May. It is the main EC for many students. These teams always do well. At our school it's definitely not a main EC.</p>
<p>just to let you know, NY is quite possibly the most competitive state in SciO. Last year, both NY teams cam in in the top 10 at Nationals. But it's a great thing to join, and starting the club will look awesome on apps, especially if you do well. A good place to go for help is <a href="http://www.scioly.org%5B/url%5D">www.scioly.org</a>. Best of luck!</p>
<p>I am not really interested in apps but hey thast a plus. I think that even forming a structure at our school will be an accomplishment. I know that NY is the most competitive state but its still I think not as hard as Virginia or Maryland. We Bxscience students are nothing to scoff at either are we ;). I looked at some of the engineering projects. I actually thought it was rather simple. The robotics team makes a machine that is able to even compete in robot wars on TV in six weeks. Still it will be a challenge to get the organization started. Thanks for all the help. </p>
<p>More inputs and insights are def. welcome. Fire away people.</p>
<p>yeah, i always wondered why bronx science didn't have a team... MD and VA are not nearly as competitive in SciO as NY...states as competitive as NY include michigan, ohio and california.</p>