About Science Olympiad

History

The first recorded Science Olympiad was held on Saturday, November 23, 1974 at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, North Carolina. Dr. Barnes and Dr. David Wetmore were the originators of this event. Fifteen schools from North and South Carolina participated in this event. It was a day-long affair, with competitions and demonstrations for high school students in the areas of biology, chemistry, and physics. There were four event periods during this day and each event period had one fun event (like beaker race or paper airplane), one demonstration (like glassblowing and holography), and one serious event (like periodic table quiz or Science Bowl).

Overview

The Olympiads themselves are separate competitions each with its own organizing body, even though they are loosely grouped together as "ISOs". The aims of each ISO are to promote a career in science; to challenge the brightest students from around the country; and to compare the various teaching systems of each city. Although the competitions are aimed for secondary school pupils, the standards of the exams are extremely high.

Divisions

There are two divisions in the hierarchy of Science Olympiad:

• Division A for school level (Class 9–10)
• Division B for college level (Class 11–12)