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The Science Olympiad is a national, non-profit, tax exempt organization,
devoted to improving the quality of science education, increasing student
interest in science, and providing recognition of outstanding achievement
in science education by both students and teachers. These goals are
achieved by participation in Science Olympiad tournaments, incorporating
Science Olympiad into classroom curriculum and attending teacher training
institutes.
The Science
Olympiad was created in 1983 by Dr. Gerard Putz and Jack Cairns to
increase interest in science as an alternative to traditional science
fairs. After successful tournaments were held in Michigan and Delaware, the
program began to attract interest from school districts all around the
country. Twenty years later, the Olympiad has
members in all 50 states and Canada, totaling more than 14,500 actively
participating K-12 schools.
Science Olympiad competitions follow the format
of classroom lab tests, popular board games, TV shows, and athletic games.
Everyone can find a niche for his or her particular skill
in Science Olympiad as each event is designed to take advantage of the
wide variety of students' talents. 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.
The New Mexico Science Olympiad began in 1987 and is
hosted each year by
New Mexico Tech in Socorro, NM.
This academic interscholastic competition
consists of over 32 individual and team events for which students
prepare during the school year. Science Olympiad focuses on three areas of science
education: science concepts/knowledge, science processes/thinking skills,
and science application/technology. The New Mexico Science
Olympiad involves over 3,000 students from all areas of New Mexico.
Regional Competition:
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Participation in a Regional
Competition is required for a team to qualify to compete in the NM state
finals.
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Qualifying teams (25 per
division) will advance to
State, with the State winners advancing to Nationals.
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Team coaches are responsible
for contacting their regional director as soon as possible for
information regarding the regional competition.
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New Mexico Science Olympiad
State Competition restricts participation to one team per school.
Some regional competitions allow more than one team per school
participate in their regional competition. Please check with your
regional director.
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Regional Directors List
State Competition
Teams and Divisions:
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There are two New
Mexico Science Olympiad divisions: Division B-students
grades 6 to 9 and Division C-grades 9 to 12.
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A team may
consists of as many as 15 members.
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There is a maximum
of five 9th grade students (Division B) and seven
12th
grade students (Division C) permitted on a team.
Registration:
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To register a team in the New Mexico Science
Olympiad, you must complete a registration
form. Forms will be mailed to teachers/schools and on our website on
September 1. Deadline for registration in December 15, 2008.
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There is a non-refundable
registration fee
of $125 per team. Please use only one name for the coach/contact
person as only one person will receive mailing and be listed as the
team's coach.
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The registration fee
entitles the member school to enter a team of up to 15 students in
their respective Regional Science Olympiad competition and one copy of
the 2009 Coaches Manual.
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There is an additional
fee of $25 for schools who wish to enter two teams at their regional
competition.
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Pre-payment is required. School purchase
orders may accompany the membership application, but the coaches
manuals will not be shipped until full payment is received.
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Payment not received by
December 16, will be assessed a $25 late payment fee.
NOTE: Coaches
Manuals will not be mailed out until October 1.
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