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Welcome to the 25th year of the most prestigious team science and technology competition in North America. The Science Olympiad has been recognized as a model program in the National Science Standards by the National Research Council.
The 2009 Wisconsin Science Olympiad State Tournament will be held Saturday, April 4, 2009, at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.New for 2009: UW–Stout will host a Div B Middle School Open Invitational Tournament, concurrently with the Div C State Tournament, on Saturday, April 4, 2009.
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Storm the Castle Event
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The Science Olympiad Mission is:
To promote and improve student interest in science and to improve the quality of K-12 science education throughout the nation.
The Science Olympiad Vision to Accomplish this Mission is:
1. To create a passion for learning by supporting elementary and secondary Science Olympiad tournaments at building, district, county, state, and national levels with an emphasis on teamwork and a commitment to excellence.
2. To improve the quality of K-12 science education throughout the nation by changing the way science is perceived and the way it is taught with an emphasis on problem solving and hands-on, minds-on constructive learning practices. This goal is accomplished through in-depth core curriculum training workshops and the distribution of curriculum materials to thousands of teachers.
3. To celebrate and recognize the outstanding achievement of both students and teachers in the areas of science and technology by awarding thousands of certificates, medals, trophies, and scholarships.
The Specific Purposes of Science Olympiad Tournaments are:
1. To bring science to life, to show how science works, to emphasize problem solving aspects of science and to promote the understanding of science concepts.
2. To develop teamwork and cooperative learning strategies among students.
3. To make science education more exciting so more students will enroll in science courses and engage in other science activities like science reading, fairs, meetings, and field trips.
4. To promote high levels of achievement and a commitment to excellence, to demonstrate that American students can perform at levels that surpasses expectations of even practicing scientists and engineers.
5. To attract more students, particularly females and minorities, to professional and technical careers in science, technology, and science teaching.
The Science Olympiad is an international nonprofit organization devoted to improving the quality of science education, increasing student interest in science and providing recognition for outstanding achievement in science education by both students and teachers. These goals are accomplished through classroom activities, research, training workshops and the encouragement of intramural, district, regional, state and national tournaments. The Science Olympiad tournaments are rigorous academic interscholastic competitions that consist of a series of individual and team events, which students prepare for during the year. The competitions follow the format of popular board games, TV shows and athletic games. These challenging and motivational events are well balanced between the various science disciplines of biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, computers and technology. There is also a balance between events requiring knowledge of science facts, concepts, processes, skills and science applications. In addition, during the day there are open house activities that consist of science and mathematics demonstrations, activities and career counseling sessions conducted by professors and scientists at the host institution occurring concurrently with the events.
Many states and regions have organized physics, biology or chemistry competitions, but, previously, few had combined all disciplines in one large Science Olympiad. The excitement of many students from all science areas competing and cheering one another on to greater learning caused one school district to coin the phrase "intellete". When they searched for a place to house their newly won Science Olympiad State Championship trophy, the only location available was outside the principal's office in the "athlete" showcase, so they convinced the school board to build an "intellete" showcase. An intellete is any person who demonstrates outstanding performance in an academic or intellectual pursuit (in this case, science). One of the goals of the Science Olympiad is to elevate science education and learning to a level of enthusiasm and support that is normally reserved only for varsity sports programs.
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Wright Stuff
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Sounds of Music
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Robot Ramble
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Science Olympiad Successes
The Science Olympiad is modeled after successful Science Olympiad tournaments held in Delaware and Michigan that were introduced by Dr. Gerard J. Putz, Regional Science Center Director, Macomb Intermediate School District in Michigan and Jack Cairns, Science Supervisor, Delaware Department of Public Instruction. In these states, the following observations have been made:
If success can be measured by the number of students attending the competition, then the Science Olympiads are successful. Attendance has increased each year in both states. In Michigan, attendance increased from 600 students participating the first year to over two million today. In Delaware, 95% of the public secondary schools participate. After students attend the Science Olympiad for the first time, they usually return each year until they graduate from high school.
If success can be measured by increasing science enrollments at home schools at a time of falling enrollments, then the Science Olympiads are successful. Many schools report increased student interest in science and increased enrollment in science classes. Some schools have reported a doubling of science class enrollments and a need to hire more science teachers.
If success can be measured by the number of science teachers across the nation that support the effort, then the Science Olympiad is successful. Last year, over 14,000 elementary and secondary teams from Canada and all 50 states participated in the Science Olympiad programs.
Although some events require an individual from one team to compete against other individuals from other teams, most events require teamwork, group planning and cooperation. The emphasis is on learning, participation, interaction, having fun and developing team spirit. Coaches and students are reminded of the words of Bill Koch (Olympic Cross Country Ski medal winner), who said, "Winning isn't everything. The striving for excellence is - it's the trying and the caring that is important - winning is a bonus."
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  Copyright by Wisconsin Science Olympiad, Inc., 2006.This site maintained by BlackRiverBranch. All rights reserved. |