2012 Competition Rules Overview Elementary Level (Division A)

Team Structure

1. A team may include up to 20 total students however teams may be composed of less students.

2. Students in grades 3-6 are eligible to participate in Division A. A team may be mixed with some students from each grade level, or they may be based on grade level with students all coming from the same grade level.

3. Schools may field multiple teams at the competition. In that case each team should be given a different designation as a way of differentiating between the multiple teams.

Spirit of Competition

1. All teams are expected to participate in the competition in a positive manner.

2. Disrupting the competition in any way by student competitors will not be tolerated.

3. Students who belittle or make fun of the work of other students will be disqualified from the competition as determined by the judges.

4. Any team caught cheating or interfering with the work of another team during an event will be disqualified from that event.

Events and Scoring

1. There will be a total of 19 events offered on the day of competition.

2. For each event teams will be ranked and scored according to the criteria set forth in the rules. A team that earns first place in an event will earn 1 point for that event. The team that earns 2nd place will earn 2 points for the event. The team that earns 3rd place will earn 3 points for the event and so on and so forth.

3. If a team does not enter an event they will earn a point value equal to the number of teams that participated + 1. For example if there are a total of 10 teams that participate in the Science Olympiad tournament, a team that does not participate in an event will earn 11 points, 10 plus 1 beyond the last place offered.

4. If a team enters an event but is otherwise disqualified from the event will earn 2 point beyond the last place offered. So in the example above the team would earn 12 points.

5. The points earned for each event will be added up and the team with the lowest overall score wins.

6. The teams with the lowest overall score will be awarded team trophies. The teams earning the top places in each event will also earn medals and ribbons.

Setting up the Team

1. A team may only enter each regular event once. This means that only one pair of students may compete in that event. For example only one pair of students may represent Elementary School A in the Rock Hound event.

2. Teams may only enter an event at the appropriate time in the schedule. For example Rock Hound may run at the 9 am and 11 am hours however the schedule will only permit certain teams to participate at each time frame.

3. Some events will conflict with one another on the day of competition. This means that a student may not be able to compete in all of their first choices of events. For example if teams must compete in Rock Hound and Large Number Estimation at the same time, then the same students cannot compete in both. Different pairs of students would need to represent the team in each event. Please consult the schedule for to determine those conflicts.

4. All teams will have the same event conflicts.

5. When selecting student pairs it is advisable that you select students that you know will work well together in a team situation. Both should be equal members of a partnership. If one member dominates the partnership, the two will most likely not work well on the day of the competition.

Competition Day

1. The competition day can be a long day for some students however there will be opportunities for fun besides competing at different points in the day. Snacks and drinks will be offered in the main cafeteria. There may also be opportunities for recreation in the gymnasium or outside with supervision.

3. The closing ceremonies will be an awards ceremony. Students will be recognized for earning the top places in each event. Both medals and ribbons will be awarded. There will be time for parents to take pictures of their children being recognized on stage. The top team scores will also be recognized with trophies.

4. Coaches will need to turn in several forms including a pledge signed by students vowing to follow a code of ethics during the competition, a photography release form, and a health release form. Students who have not completed these forms will not be allowed to participate on the competition day.

5. A spreadsheet with overall team scores will be provided to the coaches immediately following the competition day once all scores have been made official.

6. Any event appeals must be made within 1 hour of the event and the proper paperwork must be turned in to the tournament director or his designee on that day. Appeals will be dealt with on a first come first served policy and in most cases will be resolved on that day. In cases where the resolution cannot be made on that day every effort will be made to resolve them within 24 hours. Any restitution of medals or trophies that need to be made as a result of appeals will be made at that time.

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The Design Process The students should be allowed to retain control of the process while designing a Science Olympiad Project. This means that they should have the last word about how something will be done. Encourage them to gather information and ideas from library books, teachers, parents, engineers, scientists and other available resources. The intent is not to reinvent the wheel or to be given a finished design, but to integrate and build on information gathered. Example: A book on crossbows may contain information on how to make the trigger mechanism for a catapult. All components must be made by the students or readily available for purchase. The students should perform the assembling of the device. An important part of any design process is brainstorming. The entire team may be encouraged to participate in the discovery process, not just the two or three that will be involved at the tournament. An adult may act as facilitator for the group and ask questions or offer ideas. Don't forget the students should make the final choices. What Adult Construction Assistance Is Allowed? Adult assistance should be limited to teaching underlying principles and skills, suggesting ideas, and advice on methods, tools or materials to accomplish the task. The entire device, including any accompanying charts, graphs, or notes, should be built and prepared by the students. No component should be made or assembled by an adult. Some construction tools and methods are hazardous and are not within the abilities of this age group. Among these, but not limited to, are welding, machining, wood or metal lathe, milling machine, and metal casting. Tell your Science Olympiad students: "Tell me what you want to make and together we will find a way that YOU can SAFELY accomplish it." At this age students don't have much knowledge of tools and how to use them. Simple tools such as a miter box and backsaw can be used to turn a weak, unstable project into a sturdy accurate device. Use clamps to hold pieces until they are fastened together. Power tools present a SAFETY hazard and many are not appropriate for use at this age, even under adult supervision. What can be done to insure this is adhered to? Please insure the honesty and integrity of your students/children are not compromised. Tournament officials, teachers, coaches and parents, should be made aware that this is to be the work of the students. At final registration for the tournament, each team's official coach will be asked to certify, that all materials such as notes, charts, and the device itself, to be used during the tournament comply with this memo and are the work of the students. Keep in mind that the purpose of Science Olympiad is to encourage the exploration and pursuit of science while having fun in the process.

Event Descriptions – All events are for teams of 1 to 2 students unless otherwise noted.

3, 2, 1, BLAST OFF! - Students will build and launch a 2-liter plastic bottle for maximum time aloft. A IS FOR ANATOMY - Each team will view models, slides, and pictures of organs and tissues from the

human body. They will identify and explain the function of each. BIOMASS - Each team will grow a plant from a seed, give a report of its growing conditions, and take a

quiz. COOL IT - Each team will construct a device to keep an ice cube from melting. DATA DETECTIVE - Teams will analyze and create graphs based on given data. DEEP BLUE SEA - Each team will work cooperatively to answer questions and identify ocean flora, and

fauna, physical features and phenomena related to marine science. DENSITY - This event is designed to examine the students’ basic understanding of the nature of density

using blocks of various materials that are square or rectangular. 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 orders of insects.

EGG DROP - Raw, grade A medium eggs will be dropped from ever increasing heights into a landing

pad/egg catching device. LARGE NUMBER ESTIMATION - Students will be asked to estimate the answers to approximately

twenty questions requiring an estimate between ten and one million. MYSTERY POWDERS - A team of two contestants will be asked to identify a mixture of common white

household powders. PASTA TOWER - Teams will build a tower from pasta that will hold the greatest weight. PROPELLER PROPULSION - Teams of students build a device that is powered by a propeller. ROCK HOUND - Contestants will be required to identify various rocks and minerals. STARRY, STARRY NIGHT - Contestants will identify constellations, planets, and other common

celestial bodies in our universe. TENNIS BALL CATAPULT - Each two-member team will build a device to launch a tennis ball a

selected distance from about 2 to 5 meters. SCIENCE BOWL - This event is patterned after the College Bowl on TV. All questions will be taken

from elementary school science textbooks and will encompass the areas of earth science, life science, and physical sciences.

SURFING THE NET - Students are asked to find information using a World Wide Web browser. WRITE IT/DO IT - This event tests a competitor's ability to communicate with a colleague. This event

must be done with 2 students.