Science Olympiad 2013-2014

[BlastQuasar]

No more Robot Arm . I really made a lot of progress this year and was looking forward to going all-out next year.

[zerasaw]

In my opinion they need to make part of Ornithology and Entomology (especially the former, and probably only at Regionals, States, and Nationals) a practical birding/bugfinding session in which about a week before the competition competitors meet in a woodlot and try to find and photograph as many species as possible. Especially with Ornithology (as there is no quick identification skill required in actual ornithology, only in birding, really) it should be a competition of both knowing backgrounds of birds and knowing how to bird as well.

[Schrodingerscat]

In my opinion they need to make part of Ornithology and Entomology (especially the former, and probably only at Regionals, States, and Nationals) a practical birding/bugfinding session in which about a week before the competition competitors meet in a woodlot and try to find and photograph as many species as possible. Especially with Ornithology (as there is no quick identification skill required in actual ornithology, only in birding, really) it should be a competition of both knowing backgrounds of birds and knowing how to bird as well.

However, this would be logistically very difficult for all teams to get two team members to a non-local competition site a weekend beforehand. Even regions can span well over a hundreds of miles, so even at the most local level it would not be trivial.

[zerasaw]

Yeah, I guess. There should be a log of photos taken, though, since a large portion of that is bird identification.

[Summer]

I'm so excited to get back in circulation...as soon as it ended, I was dying to get back in. So happy we're only a month away! Happy studying, guys. Guess this just proves what a nerd I am.

[Skink]

Yeah, I guess. There should be a log of photos taken, though, since a large portion of that is bird identification.

Anyone can draft rules for a trial event. If you think you have a good idea for an event, throw something together. As Schrodingerscat said, your specific example is difficult for a myriad of reasons, two of which are accessibility and time of year. Oh, and there's a third one: I could generate a portfolio of bird pictures that 'I took'. Who's to prove that 'I took' them? As long as they don't have a watermark on them, they could either belong to me, a print source, a Web site...you get the idea.

Practical activities, generally speaking, are always optimal, but they're more challenging to implement in a competition setting. Some tournaments are strapped for supervisors, let alone supplies for those supervisors to use. And it's a serious issue when the supervisor arrives at the tournament not having prepared or brought anything...anyway, these events do have specimens, sometimes. Forestry was hard because many competitions are held during a certain season, but the other events in its rotation can have specimens throughout the year. That's a laboratory practical, though not what you had in mind.

The other dimension to this is that the events are designed, as I understand, to some degree to meet national science standards. I'm not terribly interested in this, but I don't know if the activities you cite are appropriate for either the middle school or high school age groups, obviously the latter before the former.

[charmander123418]

(Ugh, I just thought that "Italian Buffet" was an event. Oh me.)
Yay, Water Quality's still here for next year!

[charmander123418]

Yay, Water Quality's here for next year!

[ScienceOlympian]

Yay, Water Quality's here for next year!

My friend's probably screaming in joy. He is SUPER good at Water Quality.
I did Water Quality before, but I would have passed out if there were any bug pictures on my test.
Thankfully there weren't any pictures.
I'm excited for Solar Systems. I didn't like Reach for the Stars.

[Crazy Puny Man]

OMFG ;ASKLDFJA;LDKJF;ASKLFJ;A YOU ARE SOOOOOOO LUCKY TO GET SOLAR SYSTEM BACK! I LOVED THAT EVENT...