Supporting Nebraska's STEM Scholars
The Nebraska Science Olympiad (NESO) supports over 90 teams of Nebraska's top STEM middle and high school students per year by organizing and supporting STEM competitions and working with teacher-coaches to make lasting impacts on the lives of Nebraska's young STEM talent. Our goal is to increase interest and opportunity in science and help create and support a technologically-literate workforce.
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Nebraska Science Olympiad |
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Science Olympiad is the premier team STEM competition in the nation, providing standards-based challenges to over 6,600 teams at 425 tournaments in all 50 states. The Nebraska Science Olympiad supports over 90 teams and close to 1000 of Nebraska's top STEM middle and high school students per year. The UNO STEM TRAIL Center and the Nebraska Science Olympiad Organizing Committee plans and executes the state tournament, promotes and supports invitationals, provides resources for team development, organizes volunteers, and tells our students' stories. |
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Nebraska Scicence Olympiad Director |
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Deanna JohansenWith a long history in teaching STEM education, Deanna is passionate about increasing inquiry-based learning and inspiring the next generation of scientists. As the new director of the Nebraska Science Olympiad, Deanna is on a mission to increase Science Olympiad participation across Nebraska. You can reach Deanna at deannajohansen@unomaha.edu. "I have come to truly appreciate that the value of Science Olympiad extends well beyond competition day. Students train all year for events that foster inquiry-based learning across science, math, engineering, robotics, and computer science. It is more than a tournament." ~ Deanna (Dee) |
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Nebraska Science Olympiad Leadership Committee |
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| The new Nebraska Science Olympiad Leadership Committee began meeting in June of 2025. The committee’s mission is to increase Science Olympiad participation across Nebraska. This includes increasing the number of school teams, expanding the number of invitational tournaments, boosting participation in the state tournament, and boosting the level of competition to promote further learning. For more information, go to the Nebraska Science Olympiad Committee Information page. | |
STEM TRAIL Center |
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| The University of Nebraska Omaha's STEM TRAIL Center creates innovations in STEM education. The Center is the administrative home of the Nebraska Science Olympiad and dedicates staff time for organizational and logisitcal needs. The Center also utilizes the connections and relationships it has built with the university for improvements in fundraising, volunteer development, and team development. Its STEM education research infrastructure is also used to learn how the Science Olympiad can best serve the needs of Nebraska students and grow the Nebraska STEM workforce. | |