Held this year at Georgia Tech, more than 1,600 students participated in the national competition. Since the bottle rockets are scored according to the length of time they stay aloft, a good parachute can be the most important part of the device. The parachutes are housed in a nose cone that must be engineered to pop open at just the right moment. The pentathlon challenges Olympiad teams with a variety of activities that help the students understand not only scientific principles, but also teamwork. Georgia has been involved in the Science Olympiad from the beginning, Stombler says.
Students often compete at the school level for a spot on the team.
Because most competitors are from urban schools, organizers want to involve more rural students and also extend the competition to elementary schools to interest more students in the sciences. The students must construct a wheeled vehicle capable of going eight to 12 meters under its own power, but that's the easy part. If it doesn't stop in time, things could get messy. At the front of the vehicle is a raw egg, which will break if the vehicle hits the barrier. Mission Possible often produces the most imaginative entries in the Science Olympiad.