Team members participate in several events to test their science knowledge…

Jessica Kantor | Staff Writer

When Science Olympiad’s place in competitions is announced during third bell, Mason High School students may not realize that just 15 team members have spent several hours a week preparing for their specific events and studying all aspects of their topics to prepare.

Science teacher Aimee Hansen has been the adviser since she started the club seven years ago.

“This is my seventh year of Science Olympiad,” Hansen said. “I started the club here at Mason High School. I taught in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and I was the Science Olympiad adviser there for two years.”

Hansen said she saw an opportunity at Mason when she first began teaching science students.

“I felt there was a need [for Science Olympiad],” Hansen said. “I had all of these really smart students — but this is not just a club for smart students. It is competitive, looks good on a resume and is a good team-building sport. We didn’t really have anything like it. I had some kids in class, and I would keep looking at them and saying, ‘I know that kid would be perfect for Science Olympiad.’”

Senior Nicki Perry is in her first year on the Science Olympiad team and plans to translate her competition into a career in her future. She competes in the cell biology section of the competition.

“I have always loved biology,” Perry said. “It is what I want to major in: microbiology. I took AP Biology last year and absolutely loved it. I want to study viruses and bacteria or molecular cell biology. The cell biology test is more of rote memorization and checking facts, and it is not extremely out of reach for anyone who has taken AP Biology. It is a little more in-depth and takes more narrowing of focus.”

The Science Olympiad team prepares year-round for its competitions, most of which take place from January to April.

“We attend about four or five competitions and each has 23 events,” Hansen said. “It is sort of like a track team for science. We have a team of 15, so 15 students have to be spread out to cover 23 events. It is an all-day event with five sessions, so there is a lot going on at one time.”

At the competitions, students showcase the skills and material they have been developing for the past year.

“The kids always work in pairs, and they get medals for the top six spots in the events, and then as a team we get a medal,” Hansen said.

The Science Olympiad competitions come with specific guidelines and rules for students to follow.

“We get a rule book that comes from the national organization,” Hansen said. “The club is totally student-run. The students are event leaders for each of the events. They hold meetings to help their group prepare.”

Since the team is fairly small, students compete in multiple events at competitions. Perry said she also plans to compete in ornithology this year: the study of birds.

“For ornithology, there is a book that you have to be familiar with,” Perry said. “You can study collectively as a team, but we do it more individually.”

Perry said she will take the time to study the book and prepare to know a wide variety of facts about the birds.

“They give you a picture [during the competition], and you have to identify the bird and then know what page it is on in the book in order to answer more specific questions,” Perry said. “Sometimes, the birds are not in the book and you need to know the information. They are all North American and there are over 100 of them. For some, you even have to know what their songs are.”

There are several types of events that comprise the 23 total. Students on the team meet at various times to study or build for their specific event.

“For building events, students build Mondays and Fridays after school,” Hansen said. “They work on them all year then bring the final product to the competition. The other students study and look up resources. For some events, they can bring binders, so they prepare those in advance. But every event is different, so there is no one way to prepare.”

Students gather every so often to make sure the team is on the same page.

“Our whole body meets once every two weeks,” Perry said. “Builders meet at least twice a week because they have to physically make what they use in the competition. Studying is more on a single basis.”

Science Olympiad can take as much time as four hours a week, depending on the event in which a student chooses to compete.

“[The commitment] is most intense from January to April,” Hansen said. “The building events are probably about four hours a week of prep time. The study events depend on the student, but could be a couple hours a week for preparation.”

Hansen also puts in a large amount of time to prepare and fundraise for the team.

“I stay after school a lot,” Hansen said. “I have another coach, [science teacher Brian] Thomas, who stays after with the builders. I work on things whenever I get a chance. It takes a lot of work: I prepare the schedules and do all the fundraising and financing.”

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