For the Love of Science by Alina

For the Love of Science

Two weeks ago, a group of about thirty-five 4th, 5th, and 6th graders from my school competed at the Inland Empire Science Olympiad Regional Tournament held at Ramona High School in Riverside.  According to their website, "Science Olympiad is a nationwide competition . . . designed to increase a student's interest in STEM fields and provide recognition for outstanding achievements in team events. As their head coach, I was so inspired by the students’ hard work and level of dedication. Since September, students met two to three times a month with a dedicated group of five exceptional teachers to help prepare them for the competition held on March 2nd. The Olympiads from my school were grouped into three different teams. Each of those teams competed for medals in events that tested their knowledge on topics like weather, fossils, ecosystems, circuits and energy, body systems, the solar system, and chemical reactions.  Other events required students to use engineering skills to build glider airplanes, Rube Goldberg like contraptions, rubber band launchers, and cars made out of pasta!

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well." -Pierre de Coubertin

Want to start your own Science Olympiad team? Here are a few tips to get you started. First, head over to Inland Empire Regional Science Olympiad website at https://statescioly.org/ierso to learn more about the program and how it works. Depending on the grade level of students on your team, they will compete in different divisions. Since I teach a group of elementary students, we compete in Division A. Once you know what division your students will be competing in, you will need to purchase a Competition Tournament Rules Manual. Inside you will find the official rules for all of the possible events that could be held at the yearly tournament. Registration for teams usually opens in the fall and a list of tournament events will also be posted on the website listed above around the same time so be sure to check back often for updated information.

Create a team of about 15 students. If you are having trouble finding students to sign up, consider holding a Science Fun Night at your school and try a few of the STEM challenges for the rules manual to generate a buzz. Once you have your team, you will want to divide students into smaller group to focus on particular events. Most events are designed for two students. I like to have the whole team to work on the build activities at the beginning of the year to see which students excel at which event.s You can then have students compete within the team for certain events; create an interest survey for students to fill out or you can just choose who gets to work on each event. A little tip I learned is that the schedule of events goes out later in the year, so I have students work on different events just in case there is a scheduling conflict on the day of the tournament. After students know which events they are competing in, they will need to either practice that event, study for the event or build something for the event. Give yourself plenty of time for students to build. It takes us most of the year to build and test our pasta cars.

Don't be afraid to ask for help. You will need a variety of materials to get started. I must have hundreds upon hundreds of straws in my room. Not to mention cardboard tubes, marbles, golf balls, wooden blocks, glue sticks, and uncooked pasta. I usually ask the kids to bring unwanted toys and other supplies that we might need for the events.

This is our 5th year participating in this tournament. When I started the process I really had no idea how or where to begin. Watching the Science Olympiad group grow has been an amazing experience. I am not a science expert by any means. Events vary from year to year, so I find myself doing a lot of reading on new content before I introduce it to students. This experience has allowed me to learn a lot along the way from my colleagues who fearlessly volunteered to join me in this adventure, from parents that cheerfully offer their help and support both after-school and on the day of the event, and, most importantly I have learned the most from my students who eagerly come to meetings excited to learn about science.

I hope that I have inspired you to think more about the impact of learning about science and maybe to even start a Science Olympiad Team of your own.

"I don't run away from a challenge because I am afraid.  Instead, I run toward it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your feet."  -Nadia Comaneci 

Learning and Teaching with Grace,

Alina