About Science Olympiad
The Science Olympiad was created in 1983 (Founded in 1984) by Dr. Gerard Putz and Jack Cairns to increase interest in science as an alternative to traditional science fairs. After successful tournaments were held in Michigan and Delaware, USA, the program began to attract interest from school districts all around the US.
Science Olympiad Nigeria
Science Olympiad Nigeria is an affiliate (rights-granted) program of Science Olympiad Inc., headquartered in Oakbrook Terrace, USA. The maiden edition of the Science Olympiad kicked off in Nigeria with the Elementary Science Olympiad (ESO – Division A) hosted in and by Yaba College Of Technology campus on Thursday, 18 th and Friday, 19 th October, 2012 by Yaba College of Technology. 13 public primary and 9 private schools competed in 8(eight) different events namely: Straw Tower, Magnets, Pasta Bridge Colour Wheel, Calculator Contest, Surfing the Net, Mystery Powder, and A is for Anatomy events.
Science Olympiad Nigeria is a national non-profit initiative dedicated to improving the quality of primary and secondary schools’ science education, increasing male, female (pupils/students) interest in science, creating a technologically-literate workforce and providing recognition for
outstanding achievement by both students and teachers.
These goals are achieved by participating in Science Olympiad tournaments and non-competitive events, incorporating
Science Olympiad into classroom curriculum and attending teacher training programs.
Mission and Values
Mission
Our mission is to host exciting competitive tournaments and professional development workshops that showcase innovative STEM content to students and teachers through
out Nigeria.
Core Beliefs & Values
Encouraging creativity, critical thinking, and a spirit ofScience Olympiad Nigeria is committed to:
• Developing hands-on, standards-aligned
STEM content with industry and education partners.
• Providing volunteers and mentors a platform to share subject-matter expertise in relevant STEM topic areas
• Creating opportunities for student teamwork, problem solving and collaboration
• Recognizing outstanding achievement by students and teachers
• Encouraging male, female and minority
students to enroll in STEM courses innovation.
Vision
Our vision is to increase science Student-
Teacher participation in Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
Our Commitment
Developing hands-on, standards-aligned STEM content with industry and education partners
Providing volunteers and mentors a platform to share subject-matter expertise in relevant STEM
topic areas.
Creating opportunities for student teamwork, problem solving and collaboration.
Recognizing and celebrating outstanding achievement by students and teachers by awarding
certificates, medals, trophies and scholarships.
Encouraging male, female pupils/ students to enroll in STEM courses
Building a strong STEM workforce
To promoting partnerships among community, businesses, industry, government and
education.
Our Achievements
472+
Competitive Division A Science Olympiad teams have participated in 7 states
100+
Primary / Elementary Schools engaging in school-organized activities, club sessions or Competitive Events in Nigeria
559+
Teams Since 2012
OUR TEAM
Adewumi O. Odunnaike
National DirectorWhat People Say
“Winning The Science Olympiad 2022 tournaments was a defining moment for our schools. The competition really changed the orientation of our students towards science education, and the accolades from parents, media, and the general public is worth the intensity of our collective human effort and financial investment”.
Mr. Bola Obe
Director, Platform Schools, Ipaja – Lagos“As a veteran science instructor in the United States of America, I have been a staunch supporter of the Science Olympiad program because it reinforces the concepts and the technical know-how of science technology especially with the practical knowledge of my students. The program also expand the critical thinking skills of my students as this is noticeable in the results of their performances practically in the science laboratory since the science projects are mandatory in the schools. I rely on the Olympiad to achieve a successful goal. I consider it a major tool for accomplishing a successful science fair project locally, regionally and nationally".
Dr Abiodun Sogbesan
Femicron Associates, Washington DC, USA“Elementary Science Olympiad (ESO) helped us to make new friends outside the school, sharpened our thinking in science and technology, and opportunity to have a feel of university experience and campus life. The experiments carried out in the competition greatly improved the way we analyse, observe and report inference/conclusion; as girls, our level of learning and interest in Science increased and the ESO boosted our self esteem as we were able to build and displayed our devices in events like our male team members”.