Nebraska Science Olympiad 2025 State Tournament
The state tournament is a rigorous academic competition for middle and high school students.
STATE TOURNAMENT DETAILS
Tournament Date
Saturday April 26, 2025
Location
UNL - EAST CAMPUS
Lincoln, NE 68503 MAP
State Director
Program of Events with Map
2025 Science Olympiad Program of Events and Campus Map
Last Minute Information in case you missed it
- Checking-in Saturday Morning
- Check-in is between 7:00 am and 7:45 am
- Middle Schools check-in on the 3rd Floor of the Union
- High Schools check-in at Hardin Hall
- Have both Middle School and High School teams? Check-in on the 3rd Floor of the Union
- Your welcome folder will have all the information you need for the day including schedules, team numbers, maps, etc. No reason to print before you come.
- Opening Ceremonies, Guest Speakers, Awards Ceremonies Locations
- Middle School will attend all of these in the Great Plains Room on the 2nd Floor of the Union
- High Schools will attend all of these in the Hardin Auditorium in Hardin Hall
- Opening Ceremonies begin at 7:45
- Lunch
- Lunch is on your own.
- If students bring lunch or snacks, make sure your entire team cleans up all trash. There will be a trash bag in your welcome folder
- There is a Lunch Menu from campus near the bottom of this page
- Weather
- They keep changing their mind. Keep in mind you need to walk between buildings and could need rain gear. (Looks like a beautiful day on Saturday - but it is Nebraska.)
- Special Event info
- All events need to know info (and then some) was shared in the filed called "2025 Event-Things You Need to Know". I've linked it here for you also.
- Air Trajectory Ceiling height is 14 feet to the chandeliers and 19 feet to the ceiling.
- Helicopter had a room change to Plant Sciences 280. Ceiling height is 10 feet
- MISC Info
- UNL EAST Campus Map
- Schedule for the Day of April 26
- Forms for Coaches (Email by April 21 or bring them on April 26)
- Parade of Teams (Division B Only)
- Event Info and Resources
- Lunch and Parking Information
- Scholarship Opportunities
- Scroll down for more information or please email me with questions!
Volunteer
Make an impact and volunteer! We need event supervisors and general volunteers. Email the director for more information.
Costs
- Membership Fees: Teams will need to pay the State and National Membership Fee of $150 for each Division before registering for the State Tournament.
- There are no additional fees to attend the State Tournament (unlike previous years)
Lodging
- We have reserved a block of rooms the Graduate by Hilton Lincoln for teams that need to stay over night either Friday April 25 or Saturday April 26. Click here to reserve a room at their reduced rate.
- Unfortunately, the cut-off date for this is Friday April 4th! I am working to have this extended.
- There are many other hotel option. Contact us if you need some more information.
REGISTERING YOUR TEAMS
A team is composed of fifteen students or less from one school in one of the two divisions: B division (middle school) and C division (high school). Only one team per division per school may compete in the state tournament. Teams must pay the annual membership fees before registering a team for any tournament.
Science Olympiad Team Membership Fees
Since 1985, all teams participating in any Science Olympiad tournament (Invitational, Regional, State, or National) must be official members of Science Olympiad and pay a national membership fee of $75. In Nebraska, each competing team must also pay a state membership fee of $75, bringing the total membership cost to $150 per competing team.
Additional Exhibition teams are only required to pay the national fee of $75.
Team Structure Rules can be found on the following link as well.
REGISTER and PAY for NATIONAL AND STATE TEAM MEMBERSHIP
State Tournament Team and Event Registration
Fees: Make sure you have paid for your National and State Membership fees. There are not any additional fees for the State Tournament.
State Tournament event registration is OPEN. Those that filled out the "State Tournament Intentions" Form have already had their teams activated on the registration site. Please contact Deanna Johansen if you still need to have your team activated or if you have forgotten your username and/or password.
REGISTER FOR THE NEBRASKA SCIENCE OLYMPIAD STATE TOURNAMENT
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Forms for Coaches to Complete Ahead of the Tournament
Please complete the following forms and submit them by April 21st or bring them with you on April 26th. You will need to complete the first two forms before your students can compete.
State Tournament Team Certification Form - Required to compete.
Conduct Guidelines Form -Required to compete.
Photo Release Form - NOT required to compete. Parent/guardian signatures will allow photos taken of their student to be posted online.
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State Tournament Tentative Schedule
| Activity | Time |
| Registration | 7:00 AM - 7:45 AM |
| Opening Ceremony | 7:45 AM - 8:15 AM |
| Impound | 8:15 AM - 8:35 AM |
| Competition | 8:35 AM - 3:00 PM |
| Guest Speakers | 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM |
| Awards Ceremony | 5-ish PM |
- Division B Registration: Student Union 3rd Floor
- Division C Registration: Hardin Hall Lobby
- Registering Both Divisions: Student Union 3rd Floor
Parade of Teams - Division B ONLY
Division B will hold its annual parade of Teams during the opening ceremony held in the Great Plains Room Student Union 3rd Floor . Up to 4 members per team are encouraged to walk in the Parade. Mascots, signs, and general team spirit encouraged. Parade members will line up in the hallway just outside the door at 7:35 am. There will be volunteers directing you. We will call out each team as they enter, they will parade down the middle and then find their way back to the team seats.
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State Tournament Event Information
2025 Trial Events Descriptions
2025 Events - Things You Need to Know
State Tournament Division B Event Schedule (subject to change)
State Tournament Division C Event Schedule (subject to change)
Aerial Scramble Guillow's Sky Streak Website (teams are given 2 kits at the State Tournament - which they are required to build onsite. This link is provided for you to purchase kits for teams to practice with.)
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Lunch and Parking Information
LUNCH
- Lunch on tournament day is on your own.
- The dining hall is not open on the weekends but the Kiosk will be to open order from Grill/ Deli 11-2pm
- You and your students will need a Credit/ Debit card to pay at the Kiosk
- Costs:
The cost depends on what is ordered and normally runs from 10.00 + Tax and up depending on what is added on, like cookies or brownies
Options :
- Hero’s Sandwich/ wraps, chip, and drink
- Grill: Cheeseburgers, Fries, up charge for a double cheeseburger
- Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich, Fries, Drink
- Baskets: Chicken Tenders (3), one dip, fries, drink
- Flauta baskets : Chicken Green Chili
- Nashville Hot Chicken
- Pizza : 10 “ pizza (3 choices ), bread stick, marinara, drink
- Salads ( add chicken breast for up charge )
Garden - $10.00 Caesar –$ 10.50 Chef – $11.00
PARKING
- For those that are new this year, I thought that I should mention that parking is free at UNL on April 26th and you can park pretty much anywhere on campus.
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Scholarship Opportunities
- UNL Scholarship - UNL offers $500 scholarships to any gold medal winners from Division C. The caveat is that they need to enroll in UNL and in a CASNR major to use these awards. They will hold them for as long as needed.
- 2025 Founders' Scholarship - To honor the founders of Science Olympiad, five $10,000 college scholarships will be awarded by the Science Olympiad USA Foundation to outstanding seniors in 2025. Share this with your science olympiad seniors. 2025 Founders' Scholarship - Application.
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Getting Ready for the Tournament: A panel of Science Olympiad coaches representing Middle School and High School programs from around the country tackled questions and offered last minute tips to ensure that your team has a great tournament experience.