Rocky Mountain Junior Science Contest was created due to the lack of science competitions compared to the plethora of math contests.

Purpose

The RMJSC has two purposes: to give and to inspire. We strive to provide opportunities for junior-high students to demonstrate their knowledge of science through both theoretical and practical tests. As a team, we also have a vision of inspiring our contestants. To make this vision become a reality, we created the lab round where students will experience the fascinating first-hand application of biology, chemistry, and physics concepts in practice. The RMJSC is also designed to help give an advantage to junior high students when they enter high school by easing the transition between the two. We ourselves have found that the transition process can be confusing and burdensome.To help contestants with such a transition, we create questions that give contestants the ability to think creatively about junior high science topics and apply them to new contexts from design challenges to lab rounds. At the same time, we want to inspire more youth to pursue science and see the wonders of it. As such, while the rounds are intended to challenge, they are intended to also be fun. Youths are our future. Inspiring and aiding them on their journey will only make a better world.

Contest Content

The contest will occur on March 25th, 2023.

In-Person

The in-person contest will consist of 3 sections which will explore all fields of science as well as essential skills used in each field.

The first section is the 60-minute Lab Round which consists of the contestants conducting a simple lab in order to explore different scientific principles and reach conclusions. In the past, we have done an electricity lab where contestants could explore building parallel and series circuits. Through this process, contestants will be able to work together with their team members to come to insightful conclusions training their observational and analytical skills. At the end of the lab round, each team will submit one package of the work they have done which will be marked on logic, coherence, and innovative/creative thinking.

The second section is the 75-minute Design Round which consists of a goal such as building the tallest structure with given materials. During this round, each team will get a 15 minute period to create a tentative plan for how they want to approach the challenge. Then, every team will get their materials and a 60-minute period to actually construct and make their plan a reality. The most successful teams are consistently the most innovative, creative, collaborative, and daring. At the end of the round, there will be a testing phase to see which team was most successful. In this round, the plan and teamwork of each team is judged in addition to the final product they produce.

The third section is the 30-minute Knock-Out Round which was created to create a competitive, yet fun, flair to the contest. All teams will be asked 10 sets of 3 questions with 3 progressively difficult tiers in each given set. The answers to these questions will be only one word to a few words, however, there is a strict time limit of 30 seconds during which contestants will use their quick thinking and teamwork skills to quickly write an answer down on a piece of paper. If at any time a team fails to provide the correct answer, they are eliminated for the remainder of that set, however, they will be able to join the competition again at the start of the next set. For each correct answer, teams will get 2 marks resulting in a total of 60 possible points for this round.

Each of the three rounds is equally weighted to calculate a team’s final score. There are both prizes for the top three overall and the top teams of each round.

Schedule

The following is the tentative schedule for the 2023 in-person RMJSC.

Tentative Prizes

Values of prizes may increase before contest day.

1. First Place:
   • Signed Certificate, Medal (for in-person only), Tutoring Package from Princeton Review
2. Second Place:
   • Signed Certificate, Medal (for in-person only)
3. Third Place:
   • Signed Certificate, Medal (for in-person only)

Prize Draw

All contestants, upon registration, will be allocated one entry in the prize draw. However, contestants can increase their chances in the prize draw by inviting others. For every person that a contestant invites and signs up under his/her name, the contestant will gain an additional entry up to 10 additional entries.