Science Olympiad/Science Bowl

Myrmidon73
Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:18:28 +0000

I actually went to nationals in SB for 3 years, and in SO for 2 years, so I think I might be able to help you.

SB is totally buzzer based, and it’s js=ust answering questions. There are no points for partial credit or anything. It’s pretty fast-paced (you run through 25 questions in almost every round, until you get into the top 8 at nationals, where the questions become way more complex). Basically, you want to keep a core team of 4 people (even though you can have an alternate), who can answer questions about specific sciences. For example, I did the math, physics, and chemistry, while our captain did physics, earth science, and astronomy, while another person did astronomy, bio, and earth, and our last person did math, chem, and bio. In that sense, we had all the categories pretty well-covered between the four of us.

Science Olympiad has a team of 15, and you compete in different events. Since I’m a numbers person, I did the math and lab events (Fermi, Food Science, Chem Lab, Physics Lab, Circuit Lab). However, there are events in other disciplines, like Bio and Astronomy. Lastly, there are usually 3 or 4 building events (out of about 35 total) where you build car/catapult/bridge/tower/whatever they ask you to, and you just show how good you can engineer something. The tests in SO are written, so sometimes you can get partial credit. Also, the level of difficultly overall is not nearly as hard in SO.

They are both really fun. Most of the time, the newbies to SO get only 1, 2 or 3 (if they are really good) events, and they have the entire school year to focus on those. But, if you’re learning those same things in class, it’s not much preparation. SB, on the other hand, requires quite a bit of studying and regurgitation, especially if you are rusty at a particular science. (3 of us took AP Chem as sophs, and by senior year, it became hard to remember some of the more obscure stuff).

They are definitely great, and good colleges will definitely respect you doing one or both of these.

If you have any other questions, I’d be happy to answer them.