MSU COACH OFFICE HOURS: March 20, 4pm

New, veteran and prospective coaches are invited to join the Montana Science Olympiad staff online from 4pm to 5pm on Wednesday, March 20 for monthly coaches' office hours. You can drop in anytime during the hour to ask questions about the upcoming season, get help with a particular situation, or just hang out with the Montana Science Olympiad staff.

Find the WebEx link on our School Teams and Coaches Page

If you have any questions, email mtscioly@montana.edu

Our FAQ page is also helpful

Hotel Room Blocks now available

Discounted room blocks are available. A big thanks to many local hotels who offer discounted room rates for our participants! Follow the individual instructions for the hotel you choose on our School Teams and Coaches page. More booking options are added frequently, so check back.

• Quality Inn · $109 < book before 3/18
• Country Inn & Suites · $141 < book before 3/29
• SpringHill Suites by Marriot · $169 < book before 4/5
• Courtyard by Marriot · $159  < book before 4/5
• Lewis and Clark Motel · $149 < Book before 4/12/

Team numbers posted; time to get registered in Scilympiad

Want to know who else is coming to the state tournament? You might even be able to share transportation! All the competing teams are listed on the School Teams and Coaches page, along with team numbers, which you will need for Scilympiad (see more below).

Please check this carefully! If you think you registered a team, and you don’t see it here – contact us immediately! Also check for the correct number of teams (varsity, JV, etc.) 

Scilympiad 

We are once again using Scilympiad for our scoring software. If you made an account for a previous season, it should still be there. Please check to see that you can log in. https://scilympiad.com/mt

If you don’t have an account yet, please make one. Click Log in on the top right and create an account as a new member. Full instructions are on the School Teams and coaches page

Once you have a coach account and are logged in, it is time to register your team(s) and each team’s students. If you have more than one team, register each team separately, as you will be assigning your students to their specific team. To register your team, you can click on “register school” or go to https://scilympiad.com/mt/Reg/AddSchool

We will also ask you to assign your students to events. Full instructions are on the MTSO website.

Please complete these steps by March 15 if at all possible. This will help us with our organization planning, we recognize that there might be changes as we get closer to the event so if you need to change after this that is fine. Our event supervisors will be using the wristbands – not Scilympiad -- to identify competitors/school teams as in the past. Entering your students into events in Scilympiad helps us plan how many total people will be in each event. 

This year we are using Scilympiad for the student code of ethics and photo release forms, too. Stay tuned for more info!

Register for Museum of the Rockies STEM Night by April 10

A Science Olympiad highlight for many teams is attending STEM Night at the Museum of the Rockies on the evening before the tournament. All teams and their coaches receive FREE admission to the museum, plus private access to all the exhibits, planetarium shows, etc. and, many STEM clubs and departments from Montana State University will be there to showcase the exciting work that they do.

Register for MoR STEM Night -- Thursday, April 18 from 5:30-8:30pm. Coaches, please register on behalf of your team rather than having individual team members RSVP.

TOWER - Friday, March 22

Based on coach and student requests, we have launched a webinar series for students, so they can meet our state tournament Event Supervisors and learn more about how to prepare for competition!

Friday, March 22 at 4pm - 4:30pm with

Tower Event Supervisor Kirsten Matteson

The presentation will also be recorded

Dr. Mattsen of the MSU civil engineering department is a veteran Science Olympiad volunteer and will share an overview of the Tower event and tips for how to prepare and succeed on tournament day. This presentation is appropriate for both Division B and Division C competitors.

RSVP's are appreciated so we can collect questions ahead of time. You can submit specific question when you RSVP.

Science Olympiad Founders' Scholarships 

Calling all high school seniors! The application for the 2024 Founders' Scholarship is now open! The Science Olympiad USA Foundation will award $10,000 scholarships to five outstanding leaders. Apply today and read about the previous recipients! Due April 8, 2024 at midnight CT.

Remember to download the rules manuals and (continuously) look for event clarifications

The rule book is your friend! Download the rules manuals for the 2024 season from the National Science Olympiad website. Encourage your students to study every aspect of the rules - especially what safety equipment is required and what they are allowed to bring with them into the contest.

The rules clarifications page is also your friend! As questions arise, clarifications to the rules are posted here on the national website.