UGA Science Olympiad
EST. 2014Serving the Science Olympiad community by engaging Science Olympiad Alumni at the University of Georgia
What is Science Olympiad at the University Level?
Science Olympiad is a national organization designed to promote STEM education to K-12 students through competition. Each year, students compete in 23 events, ranging from anatomy to bridge building to forensics. Science Olympiad has grown nationally to impact thousands of students, and Georgia is home to one of the largest state Science Olympiad organizations in the country.
The mission of Science Olympiad nationally is to improve the depth and quality of K-12 science education for all students, increase interest in science, and recognize outstanding achievement. Our organization works as a conduit for this mission in the Athens community and the larger regions of Georgia and beyond through our outreach initiatives and competitions. We aim to host high-quality tournaments that challenge students and encourage them to work hard and think deeply, before, during, and after the competition. This compels high school students to pursue learning outside of the classroom and develop independent study skills and passions that will persist throughout their lives, in addition to permeating into their day-to-day environments, spreading an interest in science to their friends and classrooms. The competition rewards exemplary performance for a large number of participants and provides learning opportunities for all. Beyond the tournaments, our outreach efforts ensure fostering an interest in science in the earlier stages of education for all types of communities. For many of our members, Science Olympiad was the highlight of our K-12 education. We hope that through our efforts promoting STEM and Science Olympiad, more students can fall in love with science.
What we do
Our Tournaments
The UGA Campus will continue to be home to the UGA Division C Invitational, which is labeled as the first in-person invitational of the season. Georgia and neighboring states' students can get a head start in practicing for their regionals and state tournaments in the spring. In addition, we host the State Divison B Tournament in the Spring semester to welcome the middle school competitors to our campus.
Our Outreach
Our service focus is on STEM education. Our outreach efforts have garnered much interest in the Science Olympiad community around the Athens-Clarke County area. In the past we would mentor nearby high school teams an provide resources to schools that do not have the resources UGA has to offer. Through outreach events in our community, we are able to expand STEM education beyond the university campus to local, Athens-Clarke elementary and middle schools. Additionally, we partner with after-school programs (including Thomas-Lay), local libraries, and local homeless shelters to lead fun science activities to spark an interest and curiosity for science at a young age.