Indiana Science Olympiad

[E Edgar]

I think it might be worthwhile to limit resources in Herpetology. However, I would not like to go into a rocks and minerals competition without a binder. There are a huge number of things (locations were samples can be found, uses of each rock/mineral, crystal structures, relative hardness,...) that would be horrible (and a pointless waste of time) to memorize.

[sciolyandmathcounts]

I feel sorry for the pair on Microbe Mission. They updated the state rules saying you could have a binder the day before the competition at 7:00. Since our school is far away from Bloomington, we didn't know until we were already there.

[dickyjones]

I was a supervisor for Microbe Mission. There was no where in the state rules or clarifications that said you could bring a binder or a reference sheet (unless I missed something).

In fact the state website says:

Question: Are binders allowed for the trial events?
Answer: No, the only trial that allows reference materials of any kind is Protein Modeling. We will adhere to the official rules for Protein Modeling and only allow ten double-sided, 8.5”x11” pages of materials.

The teams that brought either were not allowed to use them. I believe teams following the national rules were the ones who were confused.

And of binders being allowed, I think it's a far more fulfilling experience than filling out a piece of paper. And the skills gained are worthwhile even to individuals who won't pursue science after high school. However, I think the rules for "Entomology" and maybe Fossils now were the best. A 1" binder that fit in a 1.5" thick box was allowed, and I can tell you that it definitely made you think more about organization and what to use the space for. As in these events, the most time-consuming portion is doing tons of research online and in libraries; I see no reason why you shouldn't be allowed to bring that information with you. However, in events that are mainly answer questions applying a few concepts (Chem Lab, Enviro Chem, Ecology, Circuit Lab, Cell Bio, Disease...), I see no reason that even one sheet of paper should be allowed (or how it would even help if the test is written right). I am fine with events like Astronomy getting all the resources they want since they involve both a great number of research as well as tons of application and calculation. But that's just my opinion.

[E Edgar]

Two things.

First of all, it's only a few short weeks until nationals. Good luck to every team that has qualified (BHSS, BHSN, TJ, WWMS) and let's try to get as many Indiana schools in the top ten as possible.

Second, I've noticed that many of the more competitive states have their state competitions much later than the Indiana one. I wonder if a later state tournament date helps those teams that go to nationals to carry their momentum from state over to the national tournament. It might also give teams more time to improve from regionals. What do you guys think?

[sciolyandmathcounts]

I like the early state tournament because it gives plenty of time for nats preparation

[Friedoyster3]

congradulations to the teams who competed at the national tournament last weekend

[E Edgar]

Well, my 2nd and last nationals is over and I graduate from high school in a week.

The tournament was very exciting with Bloomington South finishing 13th (2nd Astronomy, 1st Disease Detectives, 4th Enviro Chem, 2nd Physics Lab, 6th Technical Problem Solving, as well as 2nd in two trial events: Helicopter and Model This) and Bloomington North finishing 16th (4th forensics, 6th Ornithology, 5th Picture This). Together, an Indiana high school won a medal in over a 3rd of the events which is pretty amazing. Also, special congratulations to TJ for placing 9th overall with 3 event medals + 1 trial event medal (3rd Can't Judge a Powder, 3rd Elevated Bridge, 3rd Solar System, 2nd Helicopter). Congratulations to Wilbur Wright for winning 2 event medals + 1 trial event medal (5th Ecology, 2nd Solar System, 5th Optics) and placing 23rd.

Overall, I felt like Bloomington South had a mixed day. We did just as well in medals as many of the top ten schools and did better than #4 ranked Penncrest. Also, the vast majority of our events were strong with 17 of the 23 events in the top 20 (12 of those were in the top 15). However, we were unlucky in some events which hurt our overall score. We came 13th but were less than 10 points from 11th and our score was much better than last year.

I am a senior and so sadly, will not be able to participate next year. Congratulations again to everyone that competed this year and good luck to all schools in the 2010-2011 season.