Common Questions

Ohio Science Olympiad (OHSO) is a statewide program dedicated to improving the interest of all students in the ever-changing world of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). OHSO is one of the most successful in the nation, annually ranking as one of the top 10 largest programs in the United States. Ohio teams consistently place in the top 15 at the national tournament out of 120 teams. 

The Ohio State University Office of Academic Affairs supports the statewide Ohio Science Olympiad program and hosts the state tournament on The Ohio State University's Columbus campus. 

In grades six through 12, Science Olympiad functions much like a track team, requiring preparation, commitment, coaching and practice throughout the year. Each academic year, school-based teams can register 15 students who will cross-train within their preferred discipline. The 23 events that make up an SO competition rotate to reflect the continuous evolution within the field of STEM. Each event is unique; however, events are categorized by the following: 

• Life, Personal and Social Science 
• Earth and Space Science 
• Physical Science and Chemistry 
• Technology and Engineering 
• Inquiry and Nature of Science 

Currently, there are three Science Olympiad Divisions:

• Division A (Grades K-six)
• Division B (Grades six-nine)
• Division C (Grades nine-12)

Students on the team must be from the membership school, and a school is considered to be a separate school if it has a separate administrator. Recruiting from neighboring schools, districts, counties or states is not permitted. If you are a home-educated student or attend a virtual school, please see team qualification requirements under the national Home and Virtual School Policy. Any student can compete at only one division level (either Division B or C, not both) at a single school.

Division C Team Membership Rules

A team may have up to 15 members. A maximum of seven 12th-grade students is permitted on a Division C team.

Division B Team Membership Rules

A team may have up to 15 members. A maximum of five ninth-grade students is permitted on a Division B team. Because middle schools that do not have grades seventh, eighth or ninth are at a slight disadvantage, they may invite any combination of up to five of their last year's sixth-, seventh- or eighth-grade students to be part of the team. Possible examples/scenarios:

• A school with grades X through nine can only have five students from grade nine (in their current enrollment)
• A school with grades X through eight can only bring back five students from grade nine (from the previous year's enrollment of eighth-grade students)
• A school with grades X through seven can only bring back five students from grade eight or nine (who had been previously enrolled in that school as seventh-grade students)
• A school with grades X through six can only bring back five students from grades seven, eight or nine (who had been previously enrolled in that school as sixth graders)

A team’s Ohio Science Olympiad membership fee includes the National Science Olympiad fee. Once a team is registered with Ohio Science Olympiad, the state office forwards the team's membership to the national organization.

Find additional details about membership on the Ohio Program Registration page.

If you're new to SO, review guides for getting started, a breakdown of industry lingo and more information about National Science Olympiad can be found here. If you're familiar with the program, jump to the Start a Team page on the National website for your next steps! When you're ready, head to the Ohio Program Registration page.

No. Super team formation is not permitted. A super team occurs when students from multiple schools form a single team.

You may only participate on the school team where you are "primarily enrolled." Primary enrollment at a school will be determined by which school holds the student's records and matriculates the student. A student may only be primarily enrolled at a single school.

Yes. Event awards are based on the individual performance of the students, independent of the overall team. The team accumulates points from every individual event, and this score determines the rank of the team overall.

No. Ohio does not accept offers of registration/non-participation for a fee. Tests used during invitationals in Ohio will only be provided to teams that attend and participate in that particular event.

No. A school may register as many teams as it would like, but each team must have its own coach and must pay a separate registration fee. However, only one team from a single school can advance to the state or national competition. 

View the Ohio Science Olympiad cancellation and refund policy on the Ohio Program Registration page.

Ohio registration fees include the following:

• National and state Science Olympiad affiliation
• An electronic copy of the Science Olympiad Rules Manual
• Eligibility to participate in any Science Olympiad activities (i.e., Invitational Tournaments) throughout the country (additional fees may apply)
• Eligibility to participate in an Ohio regional tournament*
• No additional registration fee for teams advancing to the state- and national-level tournaments
• Opportunity to win academic scholarships (more than $3 million offered to date)

*Please note: Only two teams per school are eligible to participate in an Ohio Regional Tournament, regardless of the number of teams a single school has registered.

Science Olympiad competitions are like academic track meets, consisting of 23 team events in each division (Division B is middle school; Division C is high school). Ohio has eight regional tournaments across the state that allow teams the opportunity to advance to the state tournament and the national tournament.

Each year, some of the events are rotated to reflect the ever-changing nature of genetics, earth science, chemistry, anatomy, physics, geology, mechanical engineering, and technology.

Much like traditional athletic competitions, Science Olympiad requires preparation, commitment, coaching and practice throughout the year. Each school-based team is allowed to bring 15 students trained for a variety of events.

No. Accumulated team scores are based on the performance from the individual events. First-year teams will likely compete in many, but not all, of the events. However, it is difficult to advance from regionals to the state tournament without competing in every event.

Any event in which a team does not compete is considered to be a "Did Not Show" and will be given a score equivalent to the last place team plus 1 point. 

Example: If 20 teams compete in a tournament, and a team does not compete in Microbe Mission, they will be given 21 points for that event. The lowest number of points determines the overall ranking of the team.

With 15 students and 23 events, there is a bit of chaos as students go from one event to the next. Events are designed to accommodate two, three or four students, though most events only allow two students.

Each team is allowed to compete in each EVENT only once. While four students may desperately want to do Bottle Rockets, only two will be allowed because this event only allows two students to work on a single bottle rocket device. If there is a great deal of interest, form a second team and then the second team (independent of the first) is allowed to enter another set of 23 events.

Additionally, pairs of students do not have to remain connected at the hip throughout the entire day. They can switch partners with other students on the same team as often as needed. Student One can be with Student Two in Picture This, and then race off to do Bottle Rockets later in the day with Student Three.

Advancing to the state or national tournaments is based on the team’s overall performance. In Ohio, each region is assigned a set number of teams that will advance to the state tournament. The assigned team numbers are determined by the total number of teams invited to campus (40 in each division), divided by the total number of registered teams (100) in the division. That number is then multiplied by the total teams that participated (20) in that specific regional tournament, resulting in the number of teams qualifying for that division (eg. 40/100x20=8).

Nationally, the first-place team from both divisions in each state is invited to the national tournament. With that in mind, it is important to compete in as many events as possible. If a team does not compete in one or two events, it may be impossible to progress to the next level.

We stress the following: If this is your first year, come and have fun! Do as many events as possible and don't worry about getting to the next level.

Impound events require team-built devices to be checked in before the competition begins. These events are indicated in the rules and will show "Impound: Yes."

The event supervisor will inspect the device for construction violations and then return it to the team at its assigned time to compete with the device. This process is designed to prevent teams from seeing what others have done and then making last-minute modifications that would benefit the team.

No. According the the national organization, all pre-built devices presented for judging must be constructed, impounded and operated by one or more of the 15 current team members.

Please note: It is advised to check the rules, as impound may vary at different tournament levels. Neither parents nor teachers can impound devices for students.