South Carolina Science Olympiad

South Carolina Science Olympiad

The logo of South Carolina Science Olympiad.
Abbreviation	SCSO
Formation	1985
Founded at	Newberry, SC
Type	Science competition
Headquarters	Newberry College, Newberry, South Carolina
State Director	Bret Clark
Current Division B Champions	Clinton Middle School (16th title, 14th straight)
Current Division C Champions	Clinton High School (7th title)
Parent organization	Science Olympiad
Slogan	"Exploring the World of Science"
Website	South Carolina Science Olympiad

The South Carolina Science Olympiad Competition, often abbreviated as SCSO, is an annual Science Olympiad competition comprising middle school and high school teams across South Carolina.

The competition was first held in the C Division (grades 9-12) in 1985, with the inaugural state champions being Irmo High School from Irmo.^[1]

Bell Street Middle School from Clinton won the first B Division (grades 6-9) state championship a year later.^[2]

The winners of the tournament represent South Carolina at the Science Olympiad National Tournament, held in May at various universities across the nation.

History

The competition has been held every year since 1985 for Division C and since 1986 for Division B.^[3][4]

Year	Division B Champions	Division C Champions	Host
1985	No competition	Irmo	Newberry College Newberry, South Carolina
1986	Bell Street	Irmo
1987	Bell Street	Irmo
1988	Irmo	Irmo
1989	Irmo	Irmo
1990	Irmo	Irmo
1991	Irmo	Irmo
1992	Irmo	Irmo
1993	Irmo	Irmo
1994	Irmo	Irmo
1995	Irmo	Irmo
1996	Irmo	Dutch Fork
1997	Irmo	Dutch Fork
1998	Irmo	Dutch Fork
1999	Dutch Fork	Irmo
2000	Dutch Fork	Irmo
2001	Dutch Fork	Dutch Fork
2002	Dutch Fork	Irmo
2003	Bell Street	Irmo
2004	Bell Street	Irmo
2005	Bell Street	Irmo
2006	Bell Street	Irmo
2007	Bell Street	Irmo
2008	Bell Street	Irmo
2009	Bell Street	Clinton
2010	Bell Street	Clinton
2011	Bell Street	Clinton
2012	Bell Street	Clinton
2013	Bell Street	Clinton
2014	Bell Street	Clinton
2015	Bell Street[5]	Academic Magnet[6]
2016	Clinton1	Clinton
2017	To be held Feb. 18 (B) and Mar. 25 (C), 2017.

  Indicates team won the national tournament.

¹Changed name from Bell Street to Clinton before 2016 tournament.^[7]

Statistics

State Championships by School

Division B

Rank	School	No. of Championships	Years
1	Bell Street M.S./Clinton M.S.	16	1986, 1987, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
2	Irmo M.S.	11	1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
3	Dutch Fork M.S.	4	1999, 2000, 2001, 2002

Division C

Rank	School	No. of Championships	Years
1	Irmo H.S.	20	1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
2	Clinton H.S.	7	2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016
3	Dutch Fork H.S.	4	1996, 1997, 1998, 2001
4	Academic Magnet H.S.	1	2015

BOLD denotes a national championship.

Events

2016 Event Descriptions

All descriptions provided by soinc.org.

• Air Trajectory (B/C): Prior to the competition, teams will design, construct and calibrate a single device capable of launching projectiles into a target and collect data regarding device parameters and performance.
• Anatomy & Physiology (B/C): This event encompasses the anatomy and physiology of selected body systems, this year limited to skeletal, muscular and integumentary systems.
• Astronomy (C): Teams will demonstrate an understanding of the basic concepts of math and physics relating to stellar evolution and star and planet formation.
• Bio-Process Lab (B): A lab-oriented competition involving the fundamental science processes of a middle school life science/biology lab program.
• Bottle Rocket (B): Prior to the tournament, teams construct two rockets designed to stay aloft for the greatest amount of time.
• Bridge Building (B/C): Teams will design and build the lightest bridge with the highest structural efficiency that can span a given opening meeting the requirements given.
• Cell Biology (C): This event integrates content knowledge and process skills in the areas of cell biology and cellular biochemistry.
• Chemistry Lab (C): Teams will demonstrate chemistry laboratory skills related to kinetics, chemical reactions and stoichiometry.
• Crave the Wave (B): Competitors will demonstrate knowledge and process skills needed to solve problems and answer questions regarding all types and areas of waves and wave motion.
• Crime Busters (B): Teams will identify the perpetrators of a crime or crimes by using paper chromatography and analysis of unknown solids, liquids, and plastics found at the scene of a crime.
• Disease Detectives (B/C): Students will use investigative skills in the scientific study of disease, injury, health and disability in populations or groups of people with a focus on population growth.
• Dynamic Planet (B/C): Teams will use NGSS science and engineering practices to complete tasks related to physical and geological oceanography.
• Elastic Launch Glider (B): Students will design, build and test two elastic launched gliders capable of the maximum time aloft.
• Electric Vehicle (C): Teams must design, build and test one vehicle that uses electrical energy as its sole means of propulsion to travel as quickly as possible and stop close to a Target Point.
• Experimental Design (B/C): Given a set of unknown objects, teams will design, conduct, analyze and write-up an experiment.
• Food Science (B): Teams will study the science behind milk products and experiment with ingredients and physical parameters to produce and analyze these products.
• Forensics (C): Students will identify polymers, solids, fibers, and other materials in a crime scenario.
• Fossils (B/C): Teams will demonstrate their knowledge of ancient life by identifying fossils and answering questions about classification, habitat, ecologic relationships, behaviors, environmental adaptations and the use of fossils to date and correlate rock units.
• Game On (C): This event will determine a team's ability to design and build an original computer game incorporating the theme provided to them by the supervisor using the program Scratch.
• Geologic Mapping (C): Students will demonstrate understanding in the construction and use of topographic maps, geologic maps, cross sections and their use in forming interpretations regarding subsurface structures and geohazard risks.
• Green Generation (B/C): Students will answer questions involving the history and consequences of human impact on our environment, solutions to reversing trends and sustainability concepts.
• Hydrogeology² (C): Students will manipulate a groundwater computer model, answer questions about groundwater concepts, and evaluate solutions, based on hydrogeological evidence, to reduce anthropogenic effects on groundwater.
• Invasive Species (B/C): This event will test student knowledge of invasive species in local and national ecosystems.
• It's About Time² (C): Competitors may construct one non-electrical device to measure time intervals between 10 and 300 seconds and answer questions related to time.
• Meteorology (B): This event involves the use of process skills to demonstrate a multidisciplinary understanding of the Earth systems and anthropogenic factors that influence world climate.
• Mission Possible² (B): Prior to the competition, participants will design, build, test and document a Rube Goldberg-like device that completes a required Final Task through an optional series of simple machines.
• Picture This (B): Team members will take turns drawing representations of a set of scientific terms/concepts (not scientists) while the other team member guesses the term being drawn.
• Protein Modeling² (C): Students will use computer visualization and online resources to construct physical models of proteins.
• Reach for the Stars (B): Students will demonstrate an understanding of the properties and evolution of stars, especially star forming regions and supernova remnants, and their observation with different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
• Road Scholar (B): Teams will answer interpretive questions that may use one or more state highway maps, USGS topographic maps, Internet-generated maps, a road atlas or satellite/aerial images.
• Robot Arm (C): Prior to the competition, teams must design, build, document and test one robotic device to move scoreable items.
• Scrambler (B): Competitors must design, build and test a mechanical device which uses the energy from a falling mass to transport an egg along a track as quickly as possible and stop as close to the center of a terminal barrier without breaking the egg.
• Wind Power² (B/C): Teams will build a blade assembly that consists of any kind of propeller/pinwheel/rotor attached to a CD which will be used to capture wind power. Students will also be tested on their knowledge relating to alternative energy.
• Wright Stuff (C): Prior to the competition teams design, construct and test free flight rubber-powered monoplanes to achieve maximum time aloft.
• Write It, Do It (B/C): A technical writing exercise where students write a description of a contraption and other students will attempt to recreate it using only the written description.

²Denotes a Nationals-exclusive event.

(B) denotes an event exclusive to Division B, (C) denotes an event exclusive to Division C, and (B/C) denotes an event for both divisions.^[8]

Results

2016 Competition

Individual Event Placement

Division B

Event	First Place	Second Place	Third Place	Fourth Place
Air Trajectory	PALS A	Clinton A	Clinton B	Mid-Carolina A
Anatomy & Physiology	GREEN Charter	Meadow Glen A	Clinton A	Meadow Glen B
Bio-Process Lab	Newberry	Clinton A	Meadow Glen A	Mid-Carolina A
Bridge Building	Clinton A	Banks Trail B	Clinton B	Mid-Carolina A
Crave the Wave	Clinton A	PALS A	Irmo	Mid-Carolina A
Crime Busters	McCracken	Clinton A	Pine Ridge	Newberry
Disease Detectives	Clinton A	Gold Hill	Irmo	Mid-Carolina A
Dynamic Planet	Clinton A	Gold Hill	Mid-Carolina A	Meadow Glen A
Elastic Launch Glider	Mid-Carolina B	Mid-Carolina A	Clinton A	GREEN Charter
Experimental Design	Clinton A	Meadow Glen B	McCracken	Gold Hill
Food Science	Meadow Glen A	Banks Trail A	Dutch Fork	Clinton A
Fossils	Clinton A	Clinton B	Palmetto A	Pine Ridge
Green Generation	Clinton A	McCracken	Meadow Glen A	PALS
Invasive Species	Clinton A	Meadow Glen A	Meadow Glen B	Clinton B
Meteorology	Clinton A	Holly Hill-Roberts	Gold Hill	Meadow Glen B
Picture This	Meadow Glen B	Clinton A	Palmetto A	Mid-Carolina A
Reach for the Stars	Clinton A	Banks Trail A	GREEN Charter	Clinton B
Road Scholar	Meadow Glen B	Clinton A	Banks Trail A	McCracken
Scrambler	Clinton A	GREEN Charter	Clinton B	Gold Hill
Write It, Do It	Mid-Carolina A	Dutch Fork	Newberry	Clinton B

George J. Renwick Sportsmanship Award Winner
Gold Hill

  Winning team

Division C

Event	First Place	Second Place	Third Place	Fourth Place
Air Trajectory	Carolina	Ben Lippen	Academic Magnet A	Clinton A
Anatomy & Phisiology	Clinton A	J.L. Mann B	Academic Magnet A	Irmo
Astronomy	Clinton A	Academic Magnet A	Dorman B	Clinton B
Bridge Building	Clinton A	Scholar's Academy	Carolina	J.L. Mann B
Cell Biology	Academic Magnet A	Academic Magnet B	Dutch Fork A	Irmo
Chemistry Lab	Academic Magnet B	Academic Magnet A	Spring Hill	Ben Lippen
Disease Detectives	Dorman A	Dutch Fork A	Scholar's Academy	J.L. Mann B
Dynamic Planet	Clinton A	Dorman B	Academic Magnet A	Scholar's Academy
Electric Vehicle	Clinton A	Coastal Leadership Academy	Chapin	Ben Lippen
Experimental Design	Clinton A	Academic Magnet B	Clinton B	Chapin
Forensics	Chapin	Clinton B	Spring Hill	Academic Magnet A
Fossils	Clinton A	J.L. Mann A	McCracken	Spring Hill
Game On	Dutch Fork A	Dutch Fork B	Academic Magnet A	McCracken
Geologic Mapping	Clinton A	Academic Magnet A	Irmo	Scholar's Academy
Green Generation	Academic Magnet A	J.L. Mann A	Dorman B	Dutch Fork B
Invasive Species	Academic Magnet B	Clinton A	Academic Magnet A	Dorman A
Robot Arm	Clinton A	Ben Lippen	Academic Magnet A	Irmo
Wright Stuff	Clinton A	Clinton B	Academic Magnet A	J.L. Mann B
Write It, Do It	Clinton A	Academic Magnet A	Dorman B	Scholar's Academy

George J. Renwick Sportsmanship Award Winner
Spring Hill

  Winning team

Final Standings

Both winners represented South Carolina at the 2016 Science Olympiad National Tournament, held at the University of Wisconsin–Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin. Competition took place on Saturday, May 21, 2016.

Division B

Position	Team	Score3
1	Clinton (C, D)	40
2	Mid-Carolina	109
3	Banks Trail	153
4	Gold Hill	154
5	Meadow Glen	157
6	PALS	162
7	McCracken	166
8	Irmo	170
9	Palmetto	182
10	Pine Ridge	190
11	Newberry	195
12	GREEN Charter	205
13	Stover	306
14	Dutch Fork	322
15	Boiling Springs	337
16	Ben Lippen	347
17	Guinyard Butler	355
18	CrossRoads	368
19	Daniel Island	386
20	Holly Hill-Roberts	388

³Score is calculated by giving 1 point for a first-place finish, 2 points for a second-place finish, etc.

Division C

Position	Team	Score2
1	Clinton (C)	58
2	Academic Magnet (D)	69
3	Spring Hill	132
4	Irmo	149
5	McCracken	158
6	Chapin	160
7	Dutch Fork	177
8	Carolina	180
9	Dorman	187
10	Ben Lippen	188
11	Scholar's Academy	190
12	J.L. Mann	199
13	Midland Valley	257
14	East Clarendon	261
15	Coastal Leadership Academy	316
16	Marion	333

(C) denotes 2016 champions. (D) denotes defending champions.

2015 Competition

Individual Event Placement

Division B

Event	First Place	Second Place	Third Place	Fourth Place
Anatomy & Physiology	Gold Hill A	McCracken	Bell Street A	Banks Trail A
Bio-Process Lab	McCracken	Bell Street A	Banks Trail A	Gold Hill B
Bridge Building	Holly Hill-Roberts	Bell Street A	PALS A	Pine Ridge
Can't Judge a Powder	McCracken	Banks Trail A	Mid-Carolina	Banks Trail B
Crave the Wave	Bell Street A	Banks Trail A	Gold Hill A	Bell Street B
Crime Busters	Charleston Charter B	Dutch Fork	Bell Street A	McCracken
Disease Detectives	Bell Street A	Newberry	Gold Hill A	McCracken
Dynamic Planet	Bell Street A	PALS A	Mid-Carolina	Bell Street B
Elastic Launched Glider	Bell Street A	Charleston Charter A	Bell Street B	Banks Trail A
Entomology	Bell Street A	Banks Trail A	Bell Street B	Irmo
Experimental Design	Bell Street A	McCracken	Gold Hill A	Bell Street B
Fossils	Bell Street A	McCracken	Banks Trail	Bell Street B
Green Generation	Bell Street A	McCracken	Banks Trail A	Gold Hill A
Meteorology	McCracken	Bell Street A	Meadow Glen	Mid-Carolina
Picture This	Stover	Bell Street B	PALS B	PALS A
Road Scholar	Bell Street A	Irmo	Bell Street B	Pine Ridge
Robo-Cross	PALS A	Bell Street A	Mid-Carolina	Bell Street B
Solar System	Bell Street A	Gold Hill A	GREEN Charter A	Bell Street B
Wheeled Vehicle	Bell Street A	PALS A	Pine Ridge	Bell Street B
Write It, Do It	Mid-Carolina	GREEN Charter A	Gold Hill A	Bell Street B

George J. Renwick Sportsmanship Award Winner
McCracken

  Winning team

Division C

Event	First Place	Second Place	Third Place	Fourth Place
Anatomy & Physiology	Clinton	Dorman B	Irmo A	Academic Magnet A
Astronomy	Clinton	Academic Magnet B	Dorman A	Spring Hill
Bridge Building	Clinton	Dutch Fork A	Dorman A	Academic Magnet B
Cell Biology	Academic Magnet A	Academic Magnet B	Irmo A	Spring Hill
Chemistry Lab	Ben Lippen	Dorman A	Academic Magnet B	Dutch Fork A
Disease Detectives	Irmo A	Dutch Fork A	Dorman B	Academic Magnet A
Dynamic Planet	Clinton	Irmo A	Dutch Fork A	Academic Magnet A
Entomology	Clinton	Academic Magnet A	Dorman A	Dutch Fork A
Experimental Design	Academic Magnet	Irmo A	Academic Magnet B	Dutch Fork A
Forensics	Academic Magnet	Ben Lippen	East Clarendon	Clinton
Fossils	Clinton	Academic Magnet A	Academic Magnet B	Dorman B
Geologic Mapping	Clinton	Irmo A	Academic Magnet A	Bluffton B
Green Generation	Dutch Fork A	Academic Magnet A	Dorman A	Bluffton A
It’s About Time	Dorman A	Irmo B	Coastal Leadership	Clinton
Mission Possible	Spring Hill	Dorman A	Dutch Fork A	Clinton
Picture This	Irmo A	Spring Hill	Academic Magnet A	Dorman A
Protein Modeling	Academic Magnet B	Spring Hill	Irmo A	Academic Magnet A
Scrambler	Clinton	Coastal Leadership	Dutch Fork A	Irmo A
Wright Stuff	Academic Magnet A	Irmo A	Dorman A	Ben Lippen
Write It, Do It	Clinton	Chapin	Dorman B	Dutch Fork A

George J. Renwick Sportsmanship Award Winner
Coastal Leadership Academy

  Winning team

Final Standings

Both winners represented South Carolina at the 2015 Science Olympiad National Tournament, held at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Competition took place on May 15–16, 2015.^[9]

Division B

Position	Team	Score
1	Bell Street (C, D)	41
2	McCracken	92
3	Banks Trail	120
4	Palmetto Academy of Learning and Success (PALS)	133
5	Gold Hill	141
6	Meadow Glen	146
7	Palmetto	148
8	Mid-Carolina	152
9	Newberry	163
10	Irmo	166
11	Pine Ridge	180
12	GREEN Charter	191
13	Dutch Fork	278
14	Stover	284
15	Charleston Charter	302
16	Holly-Hill Roberts	308

Division C

Position	Team	Score
1	Academic Magnet (C)	76
2	Irmo	78
3	Clinton (D)	81
4	Dorman	97
5	Dutch Fork	104
6	Spring Hill	146
6	Bluffton	146
8	Ben Lippen	208
9	Coastal Leadership Academy	230
10	Chapin	235
11	East Clarendon	253
12	Carolina	263
13	Midland Valley	265
14	Wilson	288
15	Strom Thurmond	305
16	Charleston Charter School for Math & Science	317

2014 Competition

Individual Event Placement

Division B

Event	First Place	Second Place	Third Place	Fourth Place
Anatomy	Cario	McCracken	Bell Street A	Kelly Mill
Boomilever	Bell Street A	Bell Street B	Irmo	PALS A
Can’t Judge a Powder	Bell Street A	McCracken	Bell Street B	Mid-Carolina
Crime Busters	Pine Ridge	McCracken	Bell Street B	Cario
Disease Detectives	Cario	Meadow Glen	PALS A	Palmetto
Dynamic Planet	Bell Street A	McCracken	Cario	Dutch Fork
Entomology	Bell Street A	McCracken	Meadow Glen	Dutch Fork
Heredity	Cario	Bell Street A	Meadow Glen	Bell Street B
Metric Mastery	Cario	McCracken	Gold Hill	Meadow Glen
Road Scholar	Bell Street A	Meadow Glen	Banks Trail	McCracken
Robo-Cross	Meadow Glen	Bell Street B	Palmetto	Bell Street A
Rocks and Minerals	Bell Street A	Banks Trail	Bell Street B	McCracken
Rotor Egg Drop	Bell Street A	Meadow Glen	Cario	Palmetto
Shock Value	Bell Street A	Meadow Glen	Bell Street B	Irmo
Simple Machines	Dutch Fork	Cario	Gold Hill	Bell Street A
Solar System	Gold Hill	Bell Street A	Meadow Glen	McCracken
Sounds of Music	Bell Street A	Cario	Gold Hill	Meadow Glen
Water Quality	Bell Street B	Bell Street A	McCracken	Palmetto
Wheeled Vehicle	Bell Street A	Bell Street B	Cario	PALS A
Write It, Do It	Bell Street A	Gold Hill	Irmo	Palmetto

George J. Renwick Sportsmanship Award Winner
Cario

  Winning team

Division C

Event	First Place	Second Place	Third Place	Fourth Place
Anatomy & Physiology	Clinton	Dorman A	Irmo C	Dutch Fork B
Astronomy	Spring Hill	Dorman A	Dutch Fork A	Irmo A
Boomilever	Irmo A	Irmo B	Carolina	Clinton
Chemistry Lab	Academic Magnet	Dutch Fork A	Dorman A	Chapin
Circuit Lab	Academic Magnet	Dorman A	Clinton	Bluffton A
Compound Machines	Irmo A	Academic Magnet	Ben Lippen	Carolina
Designer Genes	Clinton	Irmo B	Dorman A	Irmo A
Disease Detectives	Dorman B	Academic Magnet	Bluffton A	Clinton
Dynamic Planet	Clinton	Irmo A	Academic Magnet	Dutch Fork A
Entomology	Clinton	Irmo A	Dorman A	Dutch Fork B
Experimental Design	Clinton	Dutch Fork A	Academic Magnet	Dorman A
Forensics	Academic Magnet	Clinton	Bluffton A	Dutch Fork A
Geologic Mapping	Clinton	Dutch Fork A	Chapin	Dorman A
Materials Science	Dorman A	Clinton	Dorman B	Bluffton A
Mission Possible	Dutch Fork A	Clinton	Academic Magnet	Irmo A
Rocks & Minerals	Clinton	Academic Magnet	Bluffton A	Chapin
Scrambler	Clinton	Irmo A	East Clarendon	Coastal Leadership
Technical Problem Solving	Academic Magnet	Ben Lippen	Irmo A	Dorman A
Water Quality	Dorman A	Chapin	Dutch Fork A	Dutch Fork B
Write It, Do It	Dutch Fork B	Bluffton A	Dorman A	Spring Hill

George J. Renwick Sportsmanship Award Winner
East Clarendon

  Winning team

Final Standings

Division B

Position	Team	Score
1	Bell Street (C, D)	47
2	Meadow Glen	88
3	Cario	94
4	McCracken	111
5	Gold Hill	143
6	Palmetto	156
7	Palmetto Academy of Learning and Success (PALS)	157
8	Irmo	165
9	Mid-Carolina	172
T-10	Dutch Fork	173
	Pine Ridge
12	Banks Trail	183
13	Francis Mack	240
14	Kelly Mill	265

Division C

Position	Team	Score
1	Clinton (C, D)	58
2	Academic Magnet	85
3	Dutch Fork	97
4	Dorman	99
5	Irmo	106
6	Chapin	122
7	Bluffton	134
8	Carolina	173
9	Spring Hill	195
10	Coastal Leadership Academy	203
11	East Clarendon	236
12	Ben Lippen	243
13	Midland Valley	246
14	Swansea	219
15	Lower Richland	326

2017 Competition

Division B

The 2017 South Carolina Science Olympiad Division B Tournament has been scheduled for Saturday, February 18, 2017.^[10]

Division C

The 2017 South Carolina Science Olympiad Division C Tournament has been scheduled for Saturday, March 25, 2017.^[10]

References