Science Olympiad does not equal Science Fair. Many people have never heard of Science Olympiad and they assume it is a glorified Science Fair.
Science Olympiad is a national tournament where teams compete for prizes and trophies after they qualified within their state. Every state declares one winner. The winners meet at an annual event, usually on a university campus. Last year, for instance, they went to Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.
In order to compete at the state level, your team needs to place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd at a regional event. Check your local area for instructions and locations.
Every team can have up to 15 members and there are about 30 events. Usually two teammates work together on each event. Most students pick 3-4 events to work on. This way, the whole team can cover all events. Some really bright kids can pick up 5-6 events. Beginners start with one or two events.
Division B is for middle school, or grades 6-9. In Division C, we have grades 10-12. Division A is for grades 3-5 and it does not have a national competition. Many states do not even have a Division A competition.
We have had great succes with Science Olympiad. Our children compete with Cedar Springs Homeschool, a team from Knoxville. The coaches have a lot of experience and have taken this team to the Nationals several times. So yes, Cedar Springs Homeschool has represented Tennessee at Nationals several times.
To clarify, my children were not on Team A at the time, but we are still proud of “our team.” I explain more about this in the Facebook Live event.