2026 – 2027 Season

WHAT IS SCIENCE OLYMPIAD?

• Science Olympiad is a science-themed team competition that covers 23 separate events.
• Students use the 2026 - 2027 �rules to:
• study and prepare for about 6 events during the season
• compete in 3 or 4 events* with their partners at each competition.
• Students demonstrate their knowledge at all-day Saturday invitationals and tournaments.

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TYPES OF EVENTS

Core Knowledge

• Research, compile, and master factual content.
• Standard tests or stations

Build Events

• Prior to competition, students research, design, and build a device within set parameters to serve a specified function
• Test the device at competitions
• Make improvements before the next competition.

Laboratory/Hands-On Event

• Demonstrate knowledge by performing a specified task

Hybrid Event

• May combine two or more of the above elements

TYPICAL COMPETITION SCHEDULE

• Arrival by 7:30 am
• Go to events throughout the day
• Awards Ceremony: 5 to 6 pm
• Sylvania Schools provides bussing to and from “away” competitions.

TIMBERSTONE’S SCHEDULE

11/21/26 Northridge Invitational, Middlebury, IN (registered)

12/12/26 Sylvania Invitational at Southview HS (registered)

1/16/27 Kenston Invitational, Chagrin Falls, OH

2/06/27 Mentor Invitational, in Mentor, OH

2/13/27 Hudson’s President’s Day Invitational in Hudson, OH

3/13/27 Northwest Ohio Regional Tournament at BGSU (registered)

• historically both squads are invited to compete (max is 16 teams)
• this is the qualifying competition for teams in our region wishing to advance to the state level

4/17/27 Ohio Science Olympiad State Tournament at OSU

• must qualify at Regional Tournament to advance
• only 1 squad from any school

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INVITATIONALS AND AWARDS

Competition Teams are limited to 15 members:

• Timberstone fields two teams – Blue and Silver

For individual events:

• Teams competing in events are ranked from best (1) to worst (usually 30 to 50 total teams). There are no ties.
• The top 4 to 8 event teams for each event receive medals or ribbons.

Overall:

• Each team’s ranking for every event is added together to get a final team score.
• If a team managed first place in every event, their tournament score would be 23.
• This makes it important for all of our event teams to be doing their best!
• The top teams (no more than one per school) then receive trophies.

6^th Place at the 11/25 Northridge Invitational

5^th Place at the 1/26 Kenston Invitational

6^th Place at the 1/26 Mentor Invitational

6^th Place at the 2/26 Hudson Invitational!

2^nd Place at the 2026 Northwest Regional Tournament at BGSU!

12^th Place at the 2026 State Tournament at OSU!

6^th Place Crime Busters at the 2026 State Tournament at OSU!

PARENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Forms and Payments

Due 10/15/26:

• $50 team fee (pays for basic t-shirt and event supplies)
• Student-Parent Contract

Due 10/22/26:

• T-shirt orders and payment for shirt upgrades �(if required).

Complete Final Forms and pay Sylvania Schools Activity Fee through MySchoolBucks.

PARENT OPPORTUNITIES (LOCAL)

Snack Donations

• Sign up to send prepackaged to school on practice days.
• No tree nuts or peanuts, please.

Locker Decorations

• Decorate team members’ lockers on the Thursday before invitationals & tournaments.

Topic Mentors

• Assist team members in learning about their event(s).
• During practice, in-person or via Google Meet.

Sylvania Tournament Concessions (December 12)

• Concessions volunteers & food donations! (Our only fundraiser!)

THE SYLVANIA DIV B INVITATIONAL

We are co-hosting with McCord & Arbor Hills

December 12, 2026

at Southview High School

PARENT OPPORTUNITIES (TRAVEL)

Equipment Transportation

• Transport team equipment between Timberstone and competition locations.

Invitational Room Monitor

• Monitoring the team home base during invitationals while the coaches are running events in another room.

Event Assistant (as needed)

• Assist coaches in running an event at invitationals �(test monitoring & grading)
• No experience or expertise needed.

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STUDENT EXPECTATIONS:

Attend practices and invitationals regularly.

• Students needing to miss practice or an invitational should notify the �coach via email in advance.

Use practice time wisely.

• Cell phones should be put away during practice.
• Chromebooks are not for playing games during practice.
• Work on all of their events (3 or 4 primary & 2 or 3 secondary)

Check school email regularly (daily).

• This is the primary means of communication between the coaches and the team members.

Join the Science Olympiad Google Classroom

• Forms, schedules, and event resources are posted here.

Abide by the Timberstone Code of Conduct

HELPING YOUR STUDENT AT HOME

DO:

• Encourage them to study/research/build at home
• Help them understand their topics
• Make suggestions, point them in the right direction, etc.
• Operate power tools as necessary for them

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DON’T:

• Do their research for them.
• Organize their notes for them.
• Design and/or construct their build for them.
• Immediately correct their mistakes (but DO use hints…)

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ONLINE RESOURCES

SOINC.org

• The Official Science Olympiad Website
• The place to go for rules, clarifications, FAQs, rule changes

SCIOLY.org

• A website run by Science Olympians for Science Olympians
• Good resource for practice tests.
• The SciOly Wiki page contains great explanations of each event.

Timberstone Science Olympiad’s Google Classroom

• Useful links and resources for every event.
• Forms and invitational updates. (Class Code: aocyzidz)

New! Timberstone Science Olympiad’s Website

• https://sites.google.com/view/timberstoneso/home
• We’ll stock it with the schedule, forms, and links to signups!

Questions? (Round 1)

On to the Events…

EXAMPLE EVENT RULES

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

Core Knowledge Event

• 2-person team completes a written test

Topics:

• Human respiratory system
• Digestive system
• Immune system

BOOMILEVER

Build Event

• 2-person team builds the lightest cantilevered beam/truss to:
• support a load of 15.0 kg (loading block must rest above the mounting bolt).
• at a distance of 40 to 45 cm from a wall.
• Device is taken to competition and tested.
• Score = mass held / mass of Boomilever

BOOMILEVER

BOOMILEVER

Test�Setup

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BOTANY

Core Knowledge Event

• 2-person team takes a test to demonstrate �knowledge of plant life and general botany �principles, including
• Plant structure
• Major divisions between groups of plants
• Paleobotany and Plant evolution
• Photosynthesis and �Nutrition Transport
• Plant diseases

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CIRCUIT LAB

Hybrid Knowledge / Laboratory Event

• 2-person team will complete tasks and answer �questions about electricity and magnetism.
• Topics Include:
• Properties of electric fields, static electricity, etc.
• Direct Current (DC) and Alternating Current (AC)
• Magnetic poles & fields, electromagnets
• Electrical control devices
• Simple calculations, design, and construction of circuits
• Historical contributions of individuals
• Example activity:
• Troubleshoot a faulty circuit.

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CODEBUSTERS

Core Knowledge Event

• 3-person team will analyze and decode encrypted messages using cryptanalysis techniques for specified ciphers.
• Codes to learn include:

Aristocrat Caesar Atbash

Porta Baconian Patristocrat

Fractionated Morse Nihilist cipher Complete Columnar

Cryptarithm Xenocrypt 5x5 Checkerboard Cipher

Homophonic cypher

• Requires a lot of practice.

CRIME BUSTERS

Laboratory Event

• 2-person team analyzes evidence and perform a series of chemical tests to narrow down a list of possible suspects to a single individual.
• Parts of the Competition:
• Qualitative Analysis (50%) - identify unknown materials
• Polymer, Hair, and Fiber Testing (10%)
• Paper Chromatography (5%)
• Crime Scene Physical Evidence (10%)
• Written Analysis and Summary (25%)

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DISEASE DETECTIVES

Core Knowledge Event

• 2-person team completes a test about the scientific study of disease, injury, health, and disability in populations or groups of people.
• Part 1: Background and Surveillance
• Part 2: Outbreak Investigation
• Students will analyze an outbreak study.
• Part 3: Patterns, Control, and Prevention

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DYNAMIC PLANET (FRESH WATER)

Core Knowledge Event

• 2-person team complete tasks related to the �properties and processes of Earth’s fresh waters.

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ELASTIC LAUNCHED GLIDER

Core Knowledge Event

• Prior to the tournament, 2-person team will will �construct, test, and optimize free flight Elastic Launched Gliders to achieve maximum time aloft.
• Devices will be tested at competitions.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Laboratory Event

• Given a topic and some supplies, a 3-person team will design, conduct, and report the findings of an experiment conducted entirely during the 50-minute period.
• Students will need to practice this repeatedly.

FOOD SCIENCE

Laboratory Event

• 2-person team will demonstrate knowledge of the science behind milk products and then experiment with ingredients and other variables to produce the best dairy products.
• Lab tasks at competitions:
• Ice cream formation
• Determine curd mass (cheese formation)
• Determine milk fat mass from cream (butter formation)
• Students will need to perform each of these processes three times before competitions start and log their recipes and results in a notebook.

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HEREDITY

Core Knowledge Event

• 2-person team will answer questions, solve problems, and analyze data pertaining to classic and molecular genetics.

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HOVERCRAFT

Build Event

• 2-person team will design, build, and test a self-propelled, air-levitated vehicle that moves down a track as close to the target time as possible and carries a nickel payload.

Parameters:

• Can have two fans.
• Each fan should be on a separate circuit with a 12-V power source.
• Rheostats or potentiometers can be used to adjust fan speed.

METEOROLOGY (SEVERE WEATHER)

Core Knowledge Event

• 2-person team will take a test to demonstrate an understanding of the factors that contribute to, cause, and influence Severe Weather & Storms on the Earth.
• The interpretation of meteorological data, graphs, maps, charts, tables and images will be emphasized.

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PING PONG PARACHUTE

Build Event

• Prior to competition, a 2-person team will design, �build, and bring up to two 1-L bottle rockets to the tournament� to launch a ping pong ball attached to a parachute to stay aloft for the greatest amount of time.

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• Note – if you use 1-L disposable bottles, please wash and send them in with labels intact.

REMOTE SENSING

Core Knowledge Event

• 2-person teams will demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles of remote sensing and interpret imagery, data, and maps related to human interactions with land on Earth.

ROCKS AND MINERALS

Core Knowledge Event

• 2-person team will
• identify and classify rocks and minerals
• demonstrate knowledge of how rocks and minerals help to understand geologic processes, interpretation of earth’s history, the development of natural resources, and use by society.

ROLLER COASTER

Build Event

• A 2-person team will design, build, and test a �Roller Coaster track to guide a ball/sphere that uses gravitational potential �energy as its means of �propulsion to travel as �close as possible to a �Target Time.
• Start and Finish lines must �be clearly marked and are �not moveable.

SCRAMBLER

Build Event

• 2-person team will design, construct, and test a device that uses energy from a falling mass to transport an egg down a track, stopping before the egg hits a barrier.

Goal!

Not the Goal

SCRAMBLER

The Track

SOLAR SYSTEM

Core Knowledge Event

• 2-person team will demonstrate knowledge of �habitability within and beyond the Solar System.
• Identify and explain surface, atmospheric, and spectroscopic features and processes (e.g., cratering, storms, etc.) associated with:
• In System: Venus, Mars, Ganymede, Europa, Enceladus, Titan, Makemake, 101955 Bennu, & 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
• Extrasolar: TRAPPIST-1, Kepler-452, and LHS 1140
• Know specific satellites and observatories.

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THERMODYNAMICS

Hybrid Event

• 2-person team will
• construct a device prior to the tournament designed to collect heat and test it at the competition
• take a test to demonstrate their knowledge of thermodynamic concepts.

WATER QUALITY

Hybrid Knowledge / Build Event

• 2-person team will
• take a test to demonstrate understanding and evaluation of marine and estuary aquatic environments.
• Part I: Marine and Estuary Ecology (30%)
• Part II: Coral Reef Macroflora�and Fauna Identification (30%)
• Part III: Water Monitoring & Analysis (30%)
• build, calibrate, & use a salinometer (10%)

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WRITE IT DO IT

Laboratory Event

• 2-person team will work together to construct an object.
• Student #1 has 25 minutes to view the object and write directions on how to build it
• Student #2 has 20 minutes to use the written directions and a pile of parts to build a model of the original object.

Questions? (Round 2)

ONLINE RESOURCES

SOINC.org

• The Official Science Olympiad Website
• The place to go for rules, clarifications, FAQs, rule changes

SCIOLY.org

• A website run by Science Olympians for Science Olympians
• Good resource for practice tests.
• The SciOly Wiki page contains great explanations of each event.

Timberstone Science Olympiad’s Google Classroom

• Useful links and resources for every event.
• Forms and invitational updates. (Class Code: aocyzidz)

New! Timberstone Science Olympiad’s Website

• https://sites.google.com/view/timberstoneso/home
• We’ll stock it with the schedule, forms, and links to signups!