Scioly.org

Whops accidental double post, can a mod please delete?

My old partner in this event left for high school so I'm partnering up with a friend. Any suggestions?

Practice, and get to know them.

Especially practice. If the previous posts don't answer your question though, I'm not sure what else you are looking for.

Cheesy Pie wrote:So, it's wise to get used to being both the writer and the builder.
Also, think like your partner. If you're the writer, think, "What will they think when they read this?" As the builder, think, "What were they thinking of when they wrote this?" Also, get to know them. It will come in handy so you can know how they think.

Well, I know my partner really well. She's one of my best friends. We also spent the meetings after Regionals or State trying to figure out which parts she didn't understand of my writing, and we would explain to each other our thoughts. Very helpful.
But trying to get used to being both isn't easy. My partner and I switched roles for a practice event (we were trying to help the kids who had just started SciOly), but it ended up being a disaster. Our...not very accurate model of the thing we were supposed to build was even worse than the people who had been paired up at the last second and were complete strangers AND newbies. So...we've decided to stick with me being the writer and her being the builder.

Also, I found out something really important at nationals last year: apparently, the same lady does the national competition every year and she has a tendency (from my experience of two years) to just get random items that you would find in your average office cubicle and just lump them together. So avoid practicing with just legoes and other toys because those tend to connect in predictable manners and are therefore a lot easier. So when it comes to the day of the competition and you get something like what I got, then you'll have some major issues.

She uses:
-paper and styrofoam cups
-paper clips
-popsicle sticks
-thumb tacks
-string
-rubber gloves
-rubber bands
-you get the point...

So unless something happened to her (she isn't exactly the youngest person I know), that's what you'll most likely get. And even if you don't get that at Nationals, practicing with those types of things will guarantee that you're ready for pretty much anything...good luck

TheBookworm wrote:Also, I found out something really important at nationals last year: apparently, the same lady does the national competition every year and she has a tendency (from my experience of two years) to just get random items that you would find in your average office cubicle and just lump them together. So avoid practicing with just legoes and other toys because those tend to connect in predictable manners and are therefore a lot easier. So when it comes to the day of the competition and you get something like what I got, then you'll have some major issues.

She uses:
-paper and styrofoam cups
-paper clips
-popsicle sticks
-thumb tacks
-string
-rubber gloves
-rubber bands
-you get the point...

So unless something happened to her (she isn't exactly the youngest person I know), that's what you'll most likely get. And even if you don't get that at Nationals, practicing with those types of things will guarantee that you're ready for pretty much anything...good luck

This is good advice, however not entirely true. She rotates things around a lot and does sometimes use things like Knex and Googleplex.

tying15 wrote:My old partner in this event left for high school so I'm partnering up with a friend. Any suggestions?

Learn to read their handwritting...and make them learn to write fast. Unless you are the writer in which case, learn to write super fast but make sure your partner can read it. Also, make a list of abbreviations the two of you will understand for the day of the comp....hope that helped...

chalker wrote:

TheBookworm wrote:Also, I found out something really important at nationals last year: apparently, the same lady does the national competition every year and she has a tendency (from my experience of two years) to just get random items that you would find in your average office cubicle and just lump them together. So avoid practicing with just legoes and other toys because those tend to connect in predictable manners and are therefore a lot easier. So when it comes to the day of the competition and you get something like what I got, then you'll have some major issues.

She uses:
-paper and styrofoam cups
-paper clips
-popsicle sticks
-thumb tacks
-string
-rubber gloves
-rubber bands
-you get the point...

So unless something happened to her (she isn't exactly the youngest person I know), that's what you'll most likely get. And even if you don't get that at Nationals, practicing with those types of things will guarantee that you're ready for pretty much anything...good luck

This is good advice, however not entirely true. She rotates things around a lot and does sometimes use things like Knex and Googleplex.

Oh. Well that's what she used the two times I've been to Nationals, so I guess you're right...

I am totally new to this event, and I am confused on how exactly to write the steps. It would be great if someone can provide an example of the writing part.

Thanks soo much