On February 8th, Dalton hosted 8th annual Korean Science Olympiad (KSO), which was an interscholastic science competition in Korea. It is open to all students from international schools with a passion for science and for those who wishes to display their scientific prowess. The competition was composed of three sections: written test, brain bowl, and a group activity. During the written test, students were required to select individual tests among the choices of physics, chemistry, biology, and general science. While, for the brain bowl, it was a style quiz activity in which each school nominates four students to participate as a team and represent their school. This part of the KSO consisted of quiz-type questions ranging from general science knowledge and science trivia and teams will buzz in to answer questions while score tallies are kept. During the group activity, students cooperated as a team and employed their scientific knowledge and skills to successfully execute a designated task; the topic for the group activity was released on the day of competition.
As working as a secretariat, it was impressive to watch all the staff members striving to make this the best event. Everyone was extremely committed to planning and facilitating the perfect KSO for all participating schools and individuals. On the day of the event, I was waiting at the registration desk and welcoming various schools entering the front door. Each member of the secretariats was in charge of taking care of one participating school so that any chaos could be prevented beforehand. After distributing the individuals their nametag, I guided them to the main auditorium, where an open ceremony was held. Many students busily settled themselves in the seats, while some chatted and others waited in suspense. After the official call for the beginning, students were led to their designated spots for the written exam. While the exam was ongoing, I set myself up for the next activity, which was the brain bowl. The schools gathered again in the hall and waited for it to begin. The buzzers were set and the individuals from each school carried themselves up to the stage. They were extremely competitive throughout the round and each team member maintained their cooperation among one another until each round was over. Even though the questions were complex and tough, they did not bother to give up. As a result, Yongsan International School of Seoul (YISS) took the win and was awarded at the closing ceremony. It was impressive that their team was collaborative when answering the questions one by one. Consequently, the group activity was in preparation in the gym as students busily moved themselves under the staff’s assistance.
Personally, I thought the group activity was the most exciting part of the KSO. Since the topic was released at that moment, I got nervous at the same time even though I was aware of the topic in advance. I went around and watched several amazing products and I could not simply believe that students made it within an hour. For this year, the topic was to build a bridge with provided materials; furthermore, the hook will be clutched onto the product and see how much weight it could sustain. When the time was over, everyone gathered at the front to watch the staff hang the weight on the products designed by each school. I was constantly amazed because one group hung approximately 1.8 kilograms on their design; YISS took the win and was again awarded at last. In time, the competition was officially closed with a ceremony at the end. I am again excited for next year's science Olympiad and I cannot wait to join as a participant.
