Science Olympiad 3-2014

The NCSO Fossil Frenzy competition lived up to its name; it was truly a frenzy, as first-time events tend to be. Not only was this the first year that the test was being given, it was also the first school at which the test was being administered for the 2014 elementary school competition. However, after several breathers in the chaos and locating everyone who had graciously volunteered, we managed to get the fossils on the tables, questions face down, timers in hand, and encouragement on our faces by the time the kids walked into the classroom. Pretty soon we were trying not to laugh as they worked hard in pairs to solve the problems placed before them, each one of them acting like the future paleontologist they had the potential to be. One boy in particular was by himself and worked just as eagerly as the others to finish. We were thrilled to see how well he and all of the children did on the tests, and it was a very close competition. All of the school performed fairly, honestly, and well in their categories, and good spirits abounded, especially during the awards ceremony. Overall it was a great event that encouraged fossil education for young ages (and for the adults writing and administering the tests), and personally I look forward to seeing it improve and expand over future years.