Science Olympiad is considered an academic track meet by many people in the community. Science Olympiad is a mix of events that focus on the many aspects of science. It is a complex and mentally challenging event.

The Science Olympiad team has had a memorable start this season. Their first two events took place at Northridge and Haslett High School. These two events have had success with many people placing in their events. The team is working towards their next tournament which is on February 22nd.

This tournament is at Allendale High School. Then they compete in the Region 12 tournament at Grand Valley State University. The Region 12 tournament is on March 29th. The team's performance in the Region 12 tournament will be crucial for their chances of advancing to the state tournament in April, which will be held at Michigan State University this year.

Notably, the team has qualified for the state tournament for the past five consecutive years, a remarkable achievement given that they had never reached regionals before this time. The team itself has gained popularity. Due to the Master Science program at Riley, many students go on to be in the Science Olympiad. When science teacher Josh Ernstes took over around seven years ago, there were only six kids on the team. This year however there are twenty-seven kids on the team.

“Science Olympiad is an individual and team competition. I tell people it is similar to Track where you have teams of two students in all sorts of events related to Geology, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Environmental Science, and Engineering. They compete as individuals but there is also a team aspect where based on those placements you have a team score for the 23 events the team with the lowest score wins” according to Ernstes.

“I just enjoy being with kids who truly love science and have fun being together. We keep it fun and really make it about being part of a team and representing HHS”, said Mr. Ernstes. Science Olympiad is a team that is made of pride for the school, knowledge, and fun.