APEGA Science Olympics Events for K-12 Students
The APEGA Science Olympics are interactive, inter-school, engineering and geoscience events for students in Grades 1 to 12 that take learning beyond the classroom. Students are given a series of problem-solving challenges that demonstrate the fun side of engineering and geoscience, and allow students to see first-hand how these fields impact our everyday lives.
Students cover many areas of scientific study, while learning to work and interact within a group. They use their skills and innovative ideas to develop creative solutions to various challenges. All challenges at these events are related to Alberta school curricula, and have been developed by work groups comprising APEGA professional engineers and professional geoscientists, as well as local teachers.
APEGA continues to closely monitor the situation related to COVID-19, and is committed to the safety of all event attendees.
January 2021 Update
The 2021 APEGA Science Olympics will take place virtually. In place of local in-person events, APEGA will host one free, province-wide event for all students in Alberta during the months of March, April and May 2021. This event will consist of one hands-on engineering- and geoscience-related challenge for each division. Challenges will be released on March 1, with submissions due on May 20. Challenge prototypes will be evaluated via video submissions. Participants will be given a list of specific criteria they must demonstrate with their prototypes in a 5-minute video, which will then be evaluated by APEGA members. All participants will receive feedback on their submissions. Final challenge results and a wrap-up video will be shared with registrants in June 2021.
We are accepting registrations from both individuals and classrooms this year. Check below for details.
2021 APEGA Science Olympics
This event is open to all students in Grades 1-12 across Alberta.
Participating students are registered in one of four divisions:
- Division 1 (Grades 1-3)
- Division 2 (Grades 4-6)
- Division 3 (Grades 7-9)
- Division 4 (Grades 10-12)
Registration & Event Details
| Cost | Free! |
| Challenge Release Date | March 1, 2021* |
| Challenge Submission Deadline | May 20, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. |
*Please note that you are welcome to register for the event after March 1st, but you will have a shorter timeframe to complete your submission.
Final challenge results and a wrap-up video will be shared with registrants in June 2021.
New for 2021
We are accepting registrations from individual students and classrooms:
Classroom Registration: A classroom registration allows for submissions from some or all students in a classroom. There are no limitations on the number of submissions from a single classroom, and, unlike previous years, there is no requirement to work in teams. Educators may choose to submit one or multiple prototypes from their classroom for evaluation. On or before the deadline please submit a single document listing all submissions from your classroom.
Individual Registration: Registration for one student in Grades 1-12. Individual students must be registered by a parent or guardian.
Classroom registrations will be evaluated separately from individual registrations. Classrooms from schools following a quarterly schedule will have the option to be evaluated separately from those following a two-semester schedule.
Registration closes at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday April 29th, 2021.
If you are registering after March 1, 2021, you will receive the challenge package by the end of the next business day.
Challenge Evaluation
Submissions will be evaluated using the challenge rubric and given a numerical score. Upon conclusion of the event, participants' cumulative scores will be measured against set point thresholds, from which final rankings are determined. This may result in multiple participants receiving gold, silver, bronze, or no medal. Final rankings will be shared in June 2021, and each participant will receive their rubrics and any associated feedback from the judges.
Rubrics acknowledge the variety of ways participants can use their skills and innovative ideas to accomplish the challenges. There can be more than one exceptional way to solve a problem, and this model allows all participants to be evaluated solely on their own skills and abilities, rather than scoring being dependent on a different participant’s design, challenge prototype, or overall performance. Sharing completed rubrics and feedback from the judges following the event allows students to see where they excelled, and to identify areas of improvement for next time.
Previous Science Olympics Updates
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In light of the continued situation with COVID-19 we are making some changes to the event format to better suit the unique situation we are all facing. The Classroom Challenge was originally scheduled to be released to participants in Edmonton and area on November 23rd, but this has been postponed while we make adjustments to the event schedule and challenge structure. We are committed to delivering an APEGA Science Olympics experience that is valuable and engaging, while adapting to the circumstances we find ourselves in moving into 2021.
We thank you for your patience while we work to transition to a fully virtual event. We will provide more details about the new event format and challenge details as soon as they are available.
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The APEGA Science Olympics – Edmonton and the APEGA Science Olympics - Calgary are tentatively scheduled for March 6, 2021 and May 15, 2021, respectively, and will be held in-person, if possible. With the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, preparations are also being made to move the events online. The final decision to host in-person or transition online will be made in January 2021 for the Edmonton event, and in March 2021 for the Calgary event.
This year, the Classroom Challenge (to be completed by all participants, individual or team) can be completed remotely. In contrast to previous years where teams brought their Classroom Challenge prototypes to the events for judging, participants will be asked to put together a 5-minute video presentation documenting their progress and the final testing of their prototype. This video and any associated documents will be submitted online for evaluation prior to the event, regardless of whether the event runs in-person or online.
APEGA is accepting registrations from individual students for the 2021 events for those who are unable to work in a cohort group. Individual participants will complete similar challenges to teams, but will be evaluated according to a different rubric. Individual participants must be registered by a parent or guardian.
There is no cost to reserve your spot in the event. Should the event proceed in-person, you will be contacted for payment and to confirm your participation in the in-person portion of the event. All individuals and teams who submit a Classroom Challenge will receive feedback on their prototype, regardless of whether they attend the in-person portion of the event. If the event transitions online there will be no cost to attend.
For more information, please contact [email protected] with the subject line "APEGA Science Olympics".