Tips for Preparing for Science Olympiad "Process Events"

If this is your first year attending Science Olympiad competitions, you may be asking yourself what will it be like?  While you won't know the exact format in advance, you can prepare for a few standard formats and have a strategy in place before entering the competition room.

I sort the events into three categories:  building, process, and study.  Building events are those where you have to construct a device, test it, and bring it with you to the competition.  Process events are those where you practice a process, and then do your best to perform the process during the competition.  Study Events are those that require advance study and preparation of notes prior to the competition.  This time I will focus on preparing for "Process Events".

Examples of process events include Write It Do It, Experimental Design, Road Scholar, Metric Mastery, Crime Buster.  These process events are difficult to do alone and involve a team effort.  These events also rely on strong communication skills between team members.  Here are a few tips that apply to the various structures of these process events.

1.  Decide together how the roles will be divided among the partners.   This will require you to know the strengths of each team member and to assign roles to utilize each team members strengths.

2.  Practice sample event tasks in your assigned role.  Each person should go into the event knowing their role.  If only one person knows what the roles are, then time is spent delegating rather than completing the task during the event.

3.  After a competition, talk about the task and how your team performance can be improved.  You may need to work on a different method for communicating during the competition, or how to handle unexpected parts of a task.

4.  While it is not always possible, try to work with the same partners every time you compete in a process event.  This will help you learn how to better work as a team, to be efficient in your efforts, and learn to rely on your partners to do their assigned tasks.

5.  Write It Do It:  One person should be the writer and the other person should be the doer, and practice these roles.  Talk about how to be clear in your directions.  It can also be helpful to switch roles when practicing just to know what it is like to do the other job.  You may not think you can write clear instructions neatly, but with practice you will get better.

6.  Experimental Design:  Know the rubric.  If the event judges will be using the rubric posted on the national site, then make sure you are including all parts of the rubric in your write up of your experiment.  Know the difference between an independent and dependent variable, operationally defined and standards of comparison.   Assign different parts of the write up to each partner, and practice writing out your part.  There is usually not enough time for one person to write everything or to delegate and describe what to write to a team member.

7.  Crime Buster:  Assign roles to each team member.  There will be different components included at each competition, so you have to be prepared for which components are included, and know in advance who will do which parts.  When writing up the summary, include all the data you gathered, then identify which data you are using as evidence to accuse your suspect.  You often get points for discussing data about all the suspects, not just the actual perpetrator.

8.  Metric Mastery:  Know how to use a variety of measuring instrument, and know how to read the instruments resolution and how to correctly record a measurement with the correct degree of accuracy.  Practice using these instruments to make sure you know how to use them and read the measurement.

Tips for Preparing for Science Olympiad "Building Events"

If this is your first year attending Science Olympiad competitions, you may be asking yourself what will it be like?  While you won't know the exact format in advance, you can prepare for a few standard formats and have a strategy in place before entering the competition room.

I sort the events into three categories:  building, process, and study.  Building events are those where you have to construct a device, test it, and bring it with you to the competition.  Process events are those where you practice a process, and then do your best to perform the process during the competition.  Study Events are those that require advance study and preparation of notes prior to the competition.  This time I will focus on preparing for "Building Events".

1.  Read the rules, then read them again.  It can sometimes take a few reads to understand all the parameters of the event.  Also check to see if you are required to wear goggles.  The number designation for the type of goggles required is listed at the top of the rules, and descriptions are available on the national site http://www.soinc.org/eye_protection.

2.  Draw out your design ideas on paper and discuss the materials you will need to build your device.

3.  There are many videos on You Tube of other teams in past years, and how they went about building their device.   There are also videos of devices in action during a competition.  This can help give you ideas for your device.

4.  Check out hobby shops for kits that can help you get started.

5.  Allow time to test your device before competition day.   Some events may require a log book for testing trials.  Testing your device not only allows you to know how well your device will perform, but it also give the students a chance to practice setting up the device and running it during the competition.

6.  Look for rules that restrict where the student can be during the judging of the device.  For example, they may have to stay behind a boundary during the launch phase, or they may have to wait to pick up the vehicle until the judges have finished measuring the distance traveled.  These sorts of logistics can be worked out during a trial run, and not during a competition which may result is lost points or a lower tier placement.

7.  Impound:  Check to see if you need to impound your device on the morning of the competition.  This means you have to bring your device to the testing room, have it inspected and maybe weighed, fill out the scoring form, and leave the device in the testing room.  You usually do not have to impound goggles.  If your device requires the use of graphs, make a copy to impound with your device, and a copy for your binder.  You may not get your graphs returned to you after the competition.

8.   Tiers:  Read the rules to see if there are conditions for tier placement.  If there is a construction violation (too big or too long) you may be placed in a lower tier before your device is even judged.  This means that you will score below all other devices that do not have a construction violation.  Then their may be violations during the judging of the device, maybe the student needs to "nudge" something, which is allowed, but takes a deduction of points or a lower tier placement.

9.   When you are at the competitions, watch some of the other devices to see how others have built their device.  It may give you some ideas on how to improve your design.  Remember, never take pictures of another team's device or students on another team.

10.  Enjoy the engineering process.  Every time you make a design change or rebuild your device, you are learning, and hopefully improving your device.

Tips for preparing for Science Olympiad "Study Events"

If this is your first year attending Science Olympiad competitions, you may be asking yourself what will it be like?  While you won't know the exact format in advance, you can prepare for a few standard formats and have a strategy in place before entering the competition room.

I sort the events into three categories:  building, process, and study.  Building events are those where you have to construct a device, test it, and bring it with you to the competition.  Process events are those where you practice a process, and then do your best to perform the process during the competition.  Study Events are those that require advance study and preparation of notes prior to the competition.  I will post tips on preparing for "Building Events" and "Process Events" at a later time.

Preparing for "Study Events" require time to research and read about the topics included in the rules for that event.  Events that would fall under this category include:   Anatomy, Dynamic Planet, Disease Detective, Astronomy, Water Quality/Ecology, Rocks and Minerals/Fossils, Forestry, Entomology, Heredity, Shock Value/Circuits, you get the idea.  Here are some tips to help you prepare for these types of event.

Study and binder preparation:
Notes should be written out by hand or printed out and organized in a binder for easy reference.  Using tabbed dividers can help organize the material in your binder.  The opening page of the binder should have the most used information, equations, definitions, diagrams, or images to save time searching through the binder.  You could also put this sheet in the outside pocket of the binder too.

If you are only allowed to take in a study sheet, consolidate the key information onto one sheet, which you can take into the competition with you.  The most useful things to put on a study sheet are images that require identification, equations, and other information you find hard to remember.  As you learn more material, you will be able to remove items you have learned well, and add newer information.

Test formats:
Some test formats include stations, multiple choice paper test, or power point test. 

A station test is usually set up at different locations around the room, and each team will spend 2 - 5 min at the station using equipment or analyzing graphs or images.   The event judge will them announce when it is time to move to the next station.  There are usually between 10 - 15 stations depending on the amount of time per station.

A multiple choice paper test is what we are all used to when taking tests.  These types of tests are easy for the event judge to grade quickly.

A power point test is similar to a station test, but you stay in your seat, and the "stations" are presented to you.  Each slide will be presented for 2 - 5 min, and you answer the questions on paper in your seat.  This type of test works well when there are detailed images to identify or analyze, like Astronomy.

Test taking strategies:
If the format is a station test, one person can be the writer, and the other can look up information in the binder or on the study sheet.  Sometimes the writer can write down the question in case you run out of time at that station to look up the answer.  That way you can look up the answer at a later station if you have extra time.

For a multiple choice test, ask the event supervisor if you can split the test.  If they say yes, rip the test in half, and each team member can go through the test and answer as many questions as they know.  After about 15 min, the team members should switch tests and go through answering any questions not yet answered.  For the 10 minutes, the two team members can either go over the questions again, or work on the difficult questions together.  You don't want to get bogged down by difficult questions, just move on.  Don't forget to look at the questions at the end of the test, these may be the ones you know best.

After the competition:
If you attend an invitational where you get your test and an answer key returned to you, go over your test.  This is how you will know what to study next - the questions you missed on this test.

Where to get building supplies for Science Olympiad

You are ready to order supplies for your Science Olympiad Building Events, but aren't sure where to go.  Ward's Science has been Officially Licensed by National Science Olympiad.  Other suppliers are also listed here, but are not guaranteed.  If you have other suppliers you like, please post a comment.

Ward's Science - Officially Licensed Supplier
wardsci.com/scienceolympiad

National Science Olympiad Store
http://store.soinc.org/

Freedom Flights
http://www.freedomflightmodels.com/paypal.htm

Turner Toys
http://turnertoys.com/Competition-Kits/

Boomilever Kit
http://www.dickblick.com/products/midwest-products-boomilever-kit/

Specialized Balsa, and their website is http://www.specializedbalsa.com. They are not cheap, especially when you factor in shipping, but the wood is of considerably better quality (and greater uniformity) than from a craft store.

Information on how to build a robot, with directions and links to suppliers.

 http://www.botlanta.org/publications/sobot/sobotguide.pdf 

Don't forget to check out You Tube for videos of other building events that have been posted.  For example:  Winning Robot Arm Science Olympiad 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1f26IDciaI

Science Olympiad Event Resources

Every year, more organizations are working with local Science Olympiad teams to offer resources and workshops to help students prepare for their event.   The national web site www.soinc.org continually adds links and resources available to students and coaches.  Many states offer coaching clinics in the fall to help coaches prepare for this year's event offerings.  I have assembled a list of some of the resources I have found that may be useful for you.

Division B (middle school) Event Links and Resources
http://www.soinc.org/2014_div_b_events

Division  C (high school) Event Links and Resources
http://www.soinc.org/2014_div_c_events

State Workshops and Coaching Clinics and NSTA (National Science Teacher Association) Regional and National Workshops http://www.soinc.org/workshops

Coaching Academy - Dayton OH
https://sites.google.com/site/socoachingacademy/

North Carolina State Event Resources
http://www.sciencenc.com/events.php

Preparation Tips
http://www.soinc.org/preparation_tips

Test Exchange
http://scioly.org/wiki/index.php/2013_Test_Exchange

Student Forum
http://scioly.org/phpBB3/index.php

Museum Offerings
Raleigh NC http://www.marbleskidsmuseum.org/familyscienceolympiad

Virtual http://petrifiedwoodmuseum.org/SciOly.htm

Cleveland OH http://www.cmnh.org/product/YE53-CL046/ScienceOlympiadDay.aspx

Check with your local science museums to ask for a tour or special class.

You want me to coach a Science Olympiad Event?

When your child joins a team, the parents generally accept that they may have to drive their child to team practices and competitions, maybe send in a snack or a few supplies, and be supportive of the team.  But coach a Science Olympiad Event?   Most parents remember taking a science class in high school, but that was so long ago.   Some parents have college degrees in a science related field, so it is fine for them to coach an event, but what about the rest of us?

Here are some tips and suggestions I make to parents I recruit to coach a Science Olympiad event.

1.  Relax. 
You don't have to be an expert in a science discipline, just keep the kids on task. Your main job is to help organize the students and encourage them to study, build, and prepare.  The students will do the learning, you just help them stay focused.  But don't be surprised by what you too will learn by working with the students.

2.  Read the Rules.
Read the rules for your event, and then read them again.  The kids should have the rules memorized, know what supplies they need and are allowed to use in the event, and what topics will be covered this year in that event. This is especially important for building events.

3.  Go to the National Science Olympiad web site.
Go to www.soinc.org and find the event pages.   There will sometimes be links to professional organizations that are sponsoring that event or provide useful study materials.  As the year progresses, come back to the national site and look for FAQ's or Rule Clarifications for your event.
  
4.  Google is your friend.
You and the students should search for study resources on the internet.  There are many resources for teachers on professional sites with videos and study materials.  You Tube will also often have videos of past Science Olympiad devices, and will give you some ideas of where to start when building a bridge, tower, catapult, or mousetrap vehicle.

5.  Give the students study assignments.
After you have gathered some study materials, give the students homework to do in preparation for the next practice session.  The students need to put in the time studying, and come to the next practice session with questions.  This will provide the direction for what to do next. 

6.  Have fun.
You and your students are on a journey, and learning many things in addition to the science content  involved in the event.  You will help your students learn about commitment, organization, communication, team work, perseverance, problem solving, and friendship.  Winning medals and ribbons certainly provides the motivation for the many hours of study and preparation, but the Science Olympiad Experience is also about the journey and the positive experiences along the way. Enjoy the ride!

Reflections of a Science Olympiad Graduate

This high school graduate reflects on his Science Olympiad experiences:

I have taken part in Science Olympiad for six years. I have won an individual gold medal at the state competition, as well as a 3^rd and 4^th place individual event finish and a team finish of 6^th place at the state level. I have also taken home medals at invitational tournaments attended by nationally ranked teams. Overall, I have competed with the best young scientific minds in the nation and I have represented myself and my team well.

By competing with these teams and individuals, I have learned several things about how to succeed when competing at the highest level. I have found that the most important factor to success is working hard. The level of talent only determines how much more work is necessary to surpass everyone else. This understanding of hard work has led me to work harder in regular classes, at work, and in everyday life. I have done very well in all my other pursuits largely as a result of my experiences with Science Olympiad.

Science Olympiad has taught me to work harder and strive for perfection. These lessons continue to have practical applications in my life. I think that Science Olympiad was an excellent venue for me to learn the value of hard work and friendly competition, in addition to expanding my knowledge of science. I am pleased to have taken part in this group and regret that my time in Science Olympiad is now done. I look forward to continuing my studies with the lessons learned here.

Science Olympiad Event Coaches: Difference between Middle and High School

The school year is beginning and plans are being made to organize a Science Olympiad team.  Whether you are an experienced coach or just beginning, you look over the list of this year's 23 events with both anticipation and anxiety.  How will you get every event covered by students and monitor their progress?  High school students are better able to organize their time and motivate themselves than middle school students and high school students are better able to see the long-term benefits of their efforts, which provides them the intrinsic motivation needed to study for their events on their own.[1]  Therefore, many high school coaches monitor all the events at a high level,  periodically checking on progress, and relying on students to motivate themselves to study for and work on their events.

In middle school, more extrinsic motivation is needed to keep the students on task and develop their study and organizational skills. Therefore, it is more common to assign an adult event coach to monitor the progress of each event with some adults coaching more than one event. Drew Kirian, retired middle school coach from Solon Middle School in Solon, Ohio and 6 time national champion remarked:

It took me a long while to realize I couldn’t coach 23 events.  It’s a lot of work.  I try to get the parents to coach events so my assistant coach and I only have one or two events.

Some teams are able to get teachers to help coach an event, or people in the community with a special interest in science education.  But parents are often asked to volunteer their time to help their team whether or not they have a strong science background.  While every team will have their own formula for success, there is a trend of more adult involvement and support at the middle school level compared to the high school level.

For more information on the 23 events for the 2013-2014 school year, visit http://www.soinc.org/2014_event_table

[1] http://www.education.com/reference/article/developmental-motivation-dfferent-age/

How I first heard about Science Olympiad

When my oldest daughter was in 6th grade I heard about a science competition at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio for 4th - 6th graders.  My friend described events that involved throwing paper airplanes long distances through a hoop and hitting a bull's eye with a marshmallow using a rubber band catapult.  I thought it sounded like a lot of fun and something my kids would enjoy.  I searched on the internet for Science Olympiad, found the national site, and discovered that these competitions are for older kids too.  I decided to try and form a team at the school where my kids attended, and asked the principal's permission to form an elementary team for 4th - 6th graders, and a middle school team for 6th - 8th graders.  That fall my husband and I attended a coach's clinic at Ohio State University to learn about this competition.  We were quite overwhelmed with all the events and information we received, and decided to try just a few events the first year.  We had 4 students on our middle school team and 6 on the elementary team.  At our first middle school regional competition, our team placed in the astronomy event, which was quite an accomplishment for a first year team.  After that first year, more students joined the team, and every year we learned more about how to prepare for the events.  If you are thinking of starting a team, just start small, with a handful of students and a few events, and just try it.  Then the next year, add a few more students and events, and keep on learning year after year.  Even though this competition is for students, the coaches have just as much fun learning as they help their students prepare for the competitions.  If you have questions about starting a team, read these tips on the national site http://www.soinc.org/start_a_team or send me a message and I'll help you on your way.   Beware, it is addicting!

Meet Six-time National Champion Science Olympiad Coach, Drew Kirian

Meet Six-time National Champion Science Olympiad Coach, Drew Kirian

Interviewed by Lucy Kulbago

Science Olympiad is one of the premier national science competitions, drawing 6,800 teams from 50 states. Science Olympiad competitions consist of 23 events which change each year and cover a wide variety of science disciplines including life, personal, and social sciences, physical science and chemistry, earth and space science, technology and engineering, and inquiry and nature of science.  Science Olympiad competitions include local invitationals, regional competitions which qualify top teams to compete at the state level, with state champions from all 50 states competing at the national competition.

Lucy Kulbago is a middle school Science Olympiad Coach and is also pursuing a doctoral degree in science education at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.

Drew Kirian is a recently retired middle school science teacher from Solon Middle School in Solon, Ohio and has retired from coaching the Solon Middle School Science Olympiad Team after taking his team to the national tournament eleven times, and finishing in first place from 2008 – 2013. 

How does it feel to have led your team to six consecutive national championships?

I am still in shock.  Every year my assistant coach and I say that we have had a good run and wonder if we should go out on top.  I am going out on top this year.  The students showed how important it is to be a team.  Their consistency is what won it for Solon.  167 points at Nationals is amazing.  It feels good. 

What first got you interested in Science Olympiad?

Well, the people at Ohio State sent me literature and I put it aside for three years, and then I said I’m going to try it.  The interesting thing is I went to my principal and I said I was going to try this and he told me no, don’t do it, it’s too much for you.  Fortunately for me I don’t listen too well and I ignored him.  It’s been very fun; it’s one of the best things I’ve ever been involved with.  Not only this and the kids and the parents, but meeting coaches from other teams, meeting kids from other teams, it’s just been fun.  What I think is also important are the friendships I get from the parents and community volunteers.  I made some deep friendships with them through coaching, and working with the kids, and it’s a great thing.

What are the benefits to the students in a competitive situation?

They can measure themselves with other students and I think there are real benefits in that.  Competitions within different layers of Science Olympiad can draw out their interests.  We had a student in the late 90’s, he covered for another student in astronomy, and fell in love with it.  Now he runs Astronomy and Reach for the Stars at the national level.  You see through competition what you are able to do, and it shapes what you want to do with your life.  Very few people become journalism or communication majors through Science Olympiad.   A lot of doctors and engineers come out of here.  I have one or two students that I have coached in volleyball and track that have become professional athletes, but many more professional scientists come out of Science Olympiad.

Talk about how you structure your team.

Our team is structured in a way that I’m the main coach, and then I have an assistant coach and parent coaches.  I try to get the parents to coach events so my assistant coach and I only have one or two events.  When we start out the year we have 100 kids try out for the team, and we cut it down to just over 30.  At our first meeting, the assistant coach has them sign up for 4 events they want to do, and he makes two schedules, where one week half of the events meet for a half hour, and the other half of the events meet the second week.  They get a lot of good material from their event coach.  We’re not really spoon feeding them, but giving then more opportunities to gain more knowledge.  The kids do all the work, the coach just gives them a little bit of a challenge.  

How has this structure changed over time?

When I first started, we met in January, went to Regionals in February and in two months we were done.  Now we start in August, tryout through the month of September, meet and practice until January, and go to about 10 – 12 tournaments the rest of the year.  Other successful teams have more than one coach or they have parent coaches.  It took me a long while to realize I couldn’t coach 23 events.  It’s a lot of work.

Talk more about the difficulty of going from 100 to 30 kids to start the season, and then down to 15 after Regionals.

Well, to go from 100 kids down to 30 plus kids, it’s hard. A few of them don’t mind not making the team because their parents are pushing them to be on the team, but the majority of the kids want to do it because the program has such a strong reputation.   So you see a lot of tears in their eyes.  The hardest cut is the one going from Regionals to States, cutting from 30 plus kids to 15.  They’ve had so much fun at the invitationals that when they get cut and can’t make it as an alternate, it tears them apart a little bit, and I feel bad for that.  

Do you think not making the team diminishes their interest in science?

A lot of the kids, if they don’t make it, will try out again.  I know there are kids out there that would have been perfect for this program.  The way I run my tryouts, I think it’s fair, but I still miss the one factor of who is genuine in how they want to approach Science Olympiad.  It’s that one invisible factor you wish you could evaluate.

Is the rumor true that you have a special class that is only for Science Olympiad? 

No, we’ve never had a special class.   The closest we’ve ever come is when the 8^th graders are in my study hall and I allow them in my room instead of going to study hall so they could study quietly.  We’ve always kept our Science Olympiad club as an extracurricular organization that meets from 7pm – 9pm every Thursday night.

How do you deal with conflicts with other activities?

I tell them that it’s a commitment but I don’t prevent them from belonging.   I’m all for kids being involved in a lot of different activities.  We work around that.

What do you do as a coach to foster good sportsmanship?

About 12 years ago, one of my friends, a Science Olympiad coach, kept saying that when your kids walk up to the stage at States, if they don’t get first place, they frown.  So as a result, almost every week we talk about how you receive yourself, how people perceive you.  When you walk up on stage, we don’t want any chins dragging; we want to have smiles on our faces no matter how we do.  I always point out examples at tournaments where one of the younger kids will jump up and get excited over a 7^th place ribbon and I think that is something that is really precious to see that happen.  We also try to install sportsmanship.  Never laugh at someone if they don’t perform well, whether from your school or another school.  If another school were to leave a set of goggles at home, we would be the first ones to offer it to them.  It’s all about meeting people, and becoming friends, and not about cut-throat competition.

What other attributes do you see arise from the students that participate in Science Olympiad?

Leadership and a culture of team work.  Even though we run two teams and groups of people are competing against each other, we try not to hide stuff.  We share it with each other.  We try to instill a culture that we are a family.   Teamwork is the most important thing.  There is also the responsibility that beyond the practices, they spend some time studying on their own.  Each event meets every other week for a half an hour.  The kids have to figure out what they need to learn, and spend the time to learn it.  

What keeps coaching Science Olympiad fresh and exciting year after year?

I guess you never know what to expect with the new group of kids.  It keeps it live.  I start out slow at the beginning of the year, then I go to the coaches clinic and that fires me up.  Then we have weeks of practices after that, and at the first competition you see the excitement in their eyes, and I see how they support their team.   That’s what it’s all about.

What advice do you have for a new Science Olympiad Coach?

Number one, a lot of coaches hold back, they don’t want to try it.  I think the first think it to jump in feet first and just give it a go.  Second thing, you have to win over the students, and one of the ways is to get them into more than one tournament.  A lot of schools go to regionals, hope to go to states, and then to nationals.  But I can see that the growth during the invitationals is very important.  Along with that, you have to be able to come up with some money.  They have to come up with some kind of a budget and a way to achieve that budget.

Have you been able to recruit other teachers to help with Science Olympiad?

Gosh, I’ve been knocking on doors for 26 years.  I’ve had maybe 2 teachers help.  One fizzled out because he was late, and I didn’t want to be late for the tournament, so I left him behind, and he never forgave me for that.  I’ve had almost no help from teachers until this past year, and that is my first success at getting a teacher to help.  Teacher’s nowadays want to get here just before school begins and leave right after school ends.   Some will put in extra time coaching athletics, but very few do it for academic extra-curriculars.  It is sad to see, but that is the new trend.  That’s why we see so many parent coaches in Science Olympiad now.  

What are some characteristics of a well-coached team?

Some coaches work with their kids every night.   That’s not my type of coaching.  I think it burns the kids out.  A good coach gives the kids the opportunity to learn.  I coached Rocks and Minerals and we went to Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh (PA) to see more samples of rocks and minerals, and last weekend we went to Cleveland Museum of Natural History to see their displays, and we ran into the curator and got ask questions.  Well-coached teams look for that little edge where you get a little bit more information.  Give the kids opportunities to learn more and build better devices.

What will you be doing now that you have retired from both teaching and Science Olympiad?

I am moving to California with my wife to be near my grandchildren.  I may start coaching a new team once I get out there.  I enjoy watching the kids be successful and achieve their dreams, and it will be hard to walk away from Science Olympiad.

For more information on starting a Science Olympiad team for any age level, go to www.soinc.org

Getting Started

Are you interested in all things Science Olympiad too?  Science Olympiad has been the focus of many articles and research papers, and I have practiced the research techniques I am learning at Kent State by conducting some studies about the Science Olympiad Experience.  One study helped me start to model the Science Olympiad Experience, and better explain how students and coaches explain the benefits of their participation.  Another study involved interviewing a particular middle school Science Olympiad Coach, Drew Kirian, who was the coach of the six-time national champion Solon Middle School team until he retired at the end of the 2012-2013 school year.  I have tried to get the interview with Drew published elsewhere, with no luck, and so my husband suggested I start my own blog, and publish it myself.  So here goes... a blog about my experiences with Science Olympiad.

If you would like more information about Science Olympiad, visit www.soinc.org.