North Carolina Science Olympiad (NCSO) is a nonprofit organization with the mission to attract and retain the pool of K-12 students entering science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees and careers in North Carolina. Every year NCSO hosts tournaments on university, community college, and K-12 campuses across the state. These tournaments are rigorous academic interscholastic competitions that consist of a series of different hands-on, interactive, challenging and inquiry-based events that are well balanced between the various disciplines of biology, earth science, environmental science, chemistry, physics, engineering and technology.

In 2010, over 500 K-12 schools representing 8,000+ students and 60 counties in North Carolina participated in North Carolina Science Olympiad tournaments. “NCSO is a great opportunity for students in elementary through high school to reach beyond the textbook and expand their scientific knowledge through hands-on competition,” said Sam Houston, CEO and president of the North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center (SMT Center).

NCSO is sponsored by The Science House, NC State’s acclaimed K-12 outreach program, the General Assembly of North Carolina, DuPont, GE, General Dynamics, and Time Warner Cable. According to Jason Painter, NCSO Executive Director, the program is third in the country in student participation. “We are proud to engage students in and encourage them to consider careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.” He notes that NCSO’s events align with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, as well as the National Science Education Standards.

The North Carolina Science Olympiad (NCSO) State Tournament takes place at North Carolina State University on Saturday, April 24. Twenty-five-hundred students from across the state will compete in 46 different events. Each event winner will receive a $2500 scholarship to N.C. State University. The top two middle school teams and the top two high school teams will move on to compete at the University of Illinois in May at the National Tournament.

The publics is invited to attend the State Tournament and see the exciting events that take place in Reynolds Coliseum from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Students representing 150 North Carolina middle and high schools will contend against one another in engaging events including rubber-band propelled airplanes and birds, student-designed Rube-Goldberg devices, trajectory devices, elevated bridges, and made-from-scratch vehicles. In addition, more than 200 bottle rockets holding raw eggs (Egg-O-Nauts) will be launched outside in the intramural fields near Carmichael Gymnasium beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Further information about NCSO may be obtained at www.sciencenc.com or by contacting This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it at 919/515-9402.

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