Forensics (10): Pikachu, I absolutely loved your forensics test! It was extremely well written and I especially loved the Stranger Things theme. It was a very difficult test, definitely on par with the nationals test last year. I especially liked how you organized all of the crime scene samples into baggies per team. That must’ve been super time consuming, but it was really nice to have our own samples. Only problem I saw with the event was only 2 microscopes for all 12 teams (during our time slot) and 2 Bunsen burners. It was also a little crowded with so many teams set up super close together. I don’t think that was your fault at all, that was just the set-up of the room. But a larger room with more microscopes and Bunsen burners would be even better! Overall, I really enjoyed your test and you did an outstanding job!pikachu4919 wrote: On another note, I’ve kinda been awaiting some spicy event ratings, would anyone like to start?
Ecology (31): This test was difficult, possibly harder than the test at nationals last year. I think it would have been a lot better as just a straight up test instead of stations. I didn’t really see the need for the stations. Otherwise, the content was solid and difficult.
Herpetology (38): This test was super hard. Having to ID 51 specimen in 4 minutes was so stressful. I think the stations were very difficult, but not unreasonable. They could’ve dialed it down a little bit but it wasn’t awful. I thought the line in the instructions that said “if you’re feeling overwhelmed you are allowed to leave” (paraphrased) was hilarious, because after I looked at the answer sheet and listened to all of their directions I was definitely feeling overwhelmed. Also, I think the PowerPoint with sounds could’ve been incorporated better. It was stressful to try and finish the PowerPoint questions while also answering the station questions. Overall, a solid and difficult test.
This is the second time my school has competed outside of the Kansas City area (we went to Rice last year), and it was a really nice change of pace from our usual invitationals. The tests were difficult and high-caliber and exactly what we were hoping for at MIT. We came here for high-caliber competition and difficult tests, and that’s what we got. I am happy with how we did as a team (25th!), and we are already working hard on getting better for regionals, state, and (hopefully) nationals.
The time crunch was difficult, but not impossible. There were definitely a few times where I was like “oh shoot, I have this in the notes but I don’t have time to look for it!” Overall, it was a well-run test. Thank you for working so hard on it!