MTSO News

2021-22 Montana Science Olympiad

11/9/21 We are looking for a student intern!

Coaches, please share with any of your former Science Olympians who are attending MSU. This is a paid position. Must be a currently enrolled MSU student. Job description and application requirements.

11/7/21 New Coaches’ Presentation - recording

Thanks to all coaches who participated New Coaches’ Presentation on Thursday, November 4, 2021. Science Math Resource Center shares the nuts and bolts of Montana Science Olympiad, how the program works, what tournament day is like, and how to get started building a team. Watch the video recording.  

Coaches’ Office Hours

A Coaches’ Office Hours will be held on Tuesday, November 9, 2021 from 4pm-5pm. Please register to participate and feel free to bring any questions you may have about the upcoming Montana Science Olympiad.

Events

Science Math Resource Center announces events for the 37th Montana Science Olympiad.

School Registration

School membership/registration is OPEN!  A Varsity team is required before a school may have a JV team.

37^th MTSO Registration will close on March 14th. 

MTSO state tournament is for Division B (grades 6-9) and Division C (grades 9-12).  Each team can have at most 15 students, with limits on the number of 9th and 12th graders on each type of team.  

Important News for Montana Science Olympiad 2021-22

August 2021

Dear coaches, students, families and Montana Science Olympiad supporters:

We are pleased to announce that there WILL be a Science Olympiad 2021-22 season. However, no surprise—the continued impacts of COVID-19 have affected our plans. At this point in time, we are scheduled to host a LIVE state tournament at Montana State University on Friday, April 15, 2022.

As veteran coaches know, the state tournament has typically been held on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. We had to change this year, and here’s why:

• MSU changed its academic calendar, so now the entire week of Thanksgiving is a school holiday. This means we lose access to our dozens of faculty event supervisors and over 200 student volunteers. The campus is essentially closed down.
• The space we need to host the tournament -- which was always difficult to get -- has become much more difficult to procure on campus as so many events that were postponed last year are in the queue to be hosted live in this academic year. No other fall dates were available, nor were any Saturdays in spring.

About this particular date, plus other dates of importance

• Friday, April 15 is “University Day” at MSU, which means no classes are scheduled. Labs and classrooms are available for our use.
• We know that for many Montana schools, this day is a holiday or perhaps part of your spring break. We apologize in advance for the inconvenience this will cause, but we have very little choice in scheduling this year at MSU. There is not enough space to host the tournament on a weekday when classes are in session, and no Saturdays were available.
• We also recognize the abundance of other STEM events happening around the state at this time. We did our best to schedule around them, but again, we had very few options available to us at MSU. We feel fortunate to have procured any date for such a large event.
• 2021-22 rule books are available for free download on Sept. 7 at http://soinc.org
• We will aim to announce Montana’s events the week of Sept. 13.
• Final registration for the state tournament will not be due until Spring 2022. However, if we end up having other S.O. events in Montana prior to the state tournament, teams must register before participating.

Although we know a spring tournament will not be the favorite choice for all teams and coaches, we hope the longer season will give you more time to immerse yourself in Science Olympiad and build a team that is in it for the “marathon,” not the “sprint.”

Opportunities

Would you like to host your own tournament?

If your school is interested in hosting a small regional / invitational tournament, we would love to discuss this with you. Schools in most other states host a variety of tournaments that other teams can attend in fall, winter and spring. Now that we have tried live and virtual tournaments, many possibilities are available to you. Our state office can support you; however, our time will become quite limited in March and April as we lead up to the state tournament, so please plan accordingly.

MySO

National Science Olympiad will once again offer “MySO,” a program that complements Science Olympiad's traditional US tournament structure and is available to all middle and high school students who love STEM and want to stay engaged in learning - at home, at school, or after school. Each month, a new theme is presented through lessons plans, videos and activities. Students can choose to purchase a ticket to the “STEM Showdown,” a national competition that offers medals to top participants! This program can stand alone or serve as preparation for state competition. https://www.soinc.org/myso

What else can we do?

Let’s get creative with Montana Science Olympiad! Now that we have more time to plan and practice, what else can we do to support you and your STEM students throughout the academic year. Do you want to learn about cool projects from more MSU researchers? Do coaches want more collaboration and training? Would teams like to connect with one another? Will you be visiting our campus for other events? Please share your ideas as we go through this transition and do our best to cope with the impacts of COVID-19.

Thanks for all you do as a coach and teacher!

We welcome your questions and feedback. Email us at: [email protected]

Montana Science Olympiad 2021 Essay Contest

Participants of 2021 Montana Science Olympiad took part in an essay writing contest. The theme was “Science Olympiad experience during a pandemic”. The mission of this contest was to inspire creativity, communication, and to recognize the immense effort the contestants put in to make the first virtual Montana Science Olympiad successful.

Science Math Resource Center takes great pleasure in congratulating all participants.

The winners of the essay contest are:

2021 Montana Science Olympiad

Thanks to all the amazing competitors and coaches who took part in our state Science Olympiad tournament on April 7, 2021. 

Watch the awards ceremony (April 13) here

Watch the opening ceremony (April 7) here

News on Montana Science Olympiad

36^th Montana Science Olympiad Winners

Division B:  1st Place - Helena Area Christian Home Educators
                       2nd Place - Corvallis Middle School
                       3rd Place - Hamilton Middle School

Division C: 1st Place - Hamilton High School
                       2nd Place - Fergus High School
                       3rd Place - Corvallis High School

                                                     and 

Division B Small School: First Place -  Absarokee Middle School

Division C Small School: First Place -North Toole County High School

 

School Results 

Questions? Email MTSO