How well do you know your environmental protection legislation? Or the laws of aerodynamics? Well, Arcadia High School’s (AHS) Science Olympiad (Scioly) team can certainly tell you about them. 

On Saturday, Jan. 28, AHS sent two teams, Peacocks and American Woodcocks, to the BIRDSO Invitational at Temple City High School. The competing teams strutted away with 5th and 31st place respectively, with numerous individual award. The local event hosted a total of 77 teams, some traveling from as far as Las Vegas, NV and Camas, WA. Each of the teams sported a bird-themed name, in accordance with the competition theme, making for an amusing roster.

Captain and senior Theodore Hung, who competed on AHS Peacocks, said the team “fared extremely well” considering most of the tests were “written by Harvard and MIT students.”

Scioly works by sending two members to compete in each of the 23 events, some involving a building/lab component and others in a traditional exam style. Many AHS competitors reported that the typical 50 to 70-question tests instead had upwards of 90 questions, with many requiring a short-answer response. The heightened difficulty was one hallmark of the notorious BIRDSO competition.

As for the environment, “all of us were so used to meeting at school to take online tests without wet labs or building components,” said Hung. “Upon arriving at [BIRDSO], the excitement and competitive spirit were tangible. It really demonstrated how vibrant and connected the [Scioly] community is, even after the strain of the pandemic.”

Meanwhile, Hung said his greatest difficulty was in Flight, an event in which teams “build a wooden plane that has the longest flight time.”

“Figuring out the most efficient plant design, the proper rubber band motor…were just a few aspects of the event. The most nerve-wracking part of the experience is during the competition,” said Hung. “During our first flight, the plane crashed into the basketball hoop, causing the propeller hub to break off.” His and his partner’s quick thinking—which involved speedy supergluing—led to a successful final run and a 2nd place sweep in the event!

Junior and first-time competitor Liong Ma shared his thoughts on attending the BIRDSO competition, which he says went better than he expected. 

Considering this is Science Olympiad’s first in-person competition of the year, he did encounter setbacks during the day, but “in the end, this competition isn’t about scoring high.” Rather, Ma thinks “it’s an invitation to challenge oneself in a game of greater understanding about the world—to explore one’s full potential.” 

“Ironically, I think my philosophy [during] competitions like these is an outlier,” said Ma. “My goal is—and admittedly strangely—neither to do well nor to advance, but rather to learn.”

AHS scored another exciting win by advancing to the semifinals in the Science Quiz Bowl, Jeopardy!-style buzzer trial event (which mimicked the sister-academic competition, Science Bowl). In it, a three-person team from AHS buzzed off against a trio from University High School. The face-off took place on Temple City’s football field before a stadium of hundreds of spectators.

Freshman Heather Lam, one of the three semifinalists, prepped the night before by packing necessary materials (although she did forget a calculator) and tried to sleep early. While she was pleased to have made it to the buzzer round, she definitely did not appreciate having to sit in the less than 40 oF.

“[My teammates and I] were absolutely freezing and it was a little difficult to clearly hear everything,” said Lam. “The audience’s presence could definitely be felt, but I didn’t feel too anxious under their eyes, and everyone was courteous and polite. After all, it was difficult to concentrate on anything except for the temperature!”

Arcadia’s medals in individual events were as follows: Anatomy and Physiology (4th), Astronomy (3rd), Chemistry Lab (2nd), Disease Detectives (5th), Environmental Chemistry (3rd), Flight (2nd), Forensics (7th), Forestry (2nd), Green Generation (1st), Rocks and Minerals (7th), and Science Quiz Bowl (4th). 

 Congratulations to Science Olympiad for representing AHS at the competition. Best of luck to the competing teams at regionals!

Photo courtesy of AHS Science Olympiad on Instagram