The National Science Bee is a buzzer-based science quiz competition for individual Elementary and Middle School-aged students throughout the USA.
NSB operates as a division of International Academic Competitions, which organizes events in over 30 countries around the world, including the National History Bee and Bowl, International Geography Bee, US Academic Bee and Bowl, and International History Olympiad.
The National Science Bee will be comprised of four levels during the 2018-19 season.
- Pre-exam Intramural Qualification – This is not required by the National Science Bee, but many schools hold an in-school competition to determine which students will be allowed to take the free Online Regional Qualifying Exam. We will make materials for this optional stage available for free by November 1. There will be two options: a 50-question multiple choice exam in PDF format and a series of 100 short questions that can be used for a “spelling bee” style tournament done at your institution.
- Online Qualifying Exam – In the fall of 2018 (date TBD), students will be able to register to take the Online Qualifying Exam for the National Science Bee. These exams may be administered at the student’s school under supervision or at home under supervision for homeschooled students. There will be no cost for students to take the Online Qualifying Exam. All students are encouraged to participate. Scores on the Online Qualifying Exam will be utilized to determine which students have qualified for the Regional Finals. Scores will not be made public.
- Regional Finals – Dates and locations for the 2019 National Science Bee Regional Finals have yet to be finalized. We are planning Regional Finals in the general locations listed below, but be aware that these are by no means final. If a suitable host is not found in a particular location, it is possible that no Regional Final will be held in that location. In such an event, students from those regions will be assigned to the closest possible Regional Finals locations. Regional Finals will be held from February 16 to April 13, 2019 and will be in conjunction with the National History Bee and the US Academic Bee on the same date at the same location.
- National Championships – The National Championships of the National Science Bee will be held as a component of the US Academic Bee and Bowl, to be held in June, 2019. The location for this event is still to be determined. Students will qualify for the National Championships based on their finish at the Regional Finals. Specific qualification requirements will be announced at a later date.
The National Science Bee is actively working to secure hosts for its 2019 Regional Finals. These Regional Finals will be held from February 23 to April 13, 2019. Current regions within which we are actively planning to hold competitions are listed below. If your school is interested in hosting a Regional Final, please contact us at info@iacompetitions.com. We would be happy to discuss details with you.
Additionally, if you believe that your region is not listed below but has enough local interest to potentially host a Regional Final, we would also be interested in discussing that with you.
Planned Regional Finals locations
- Alabama – Birmingham
- Arkansas – Little Rock
- Arizona – Phoenix
- California – Los Angeles
- California – San Diego
- California – San Francisco
- Colorado – Denver
- Connecticut – Bridgeport
- District of Columbia
- Florida – Fort Lauderdale
- Florida – Largo
- Georgia – Atlanta (North)
- Georgia – Atlanta (South)
- Georgia – Newnan
- Hawaii – Honolulu
- Illinois – Chicago (North)
- Illinois – Chicago (South)
- Indiana – Indianapolis
- Kansas – Kansas City
- Kansas – Wichita
- Kentucky – Lexington
- Louisiana – New Orleans
- Maryland – Baltimore
- Massachusetts – Boston
- Michigan – Detroit
- Minnesota – Minneapolis
- Missouri – St. Louis
- Nebraska – Omaha
- Nevada – Las Vegas
- New York – New York City (North)
- New York – New York City (South)
- North Carolina – Charlotte
- Ohio – Columbus
- Oklahoma – Oklahoma City
- Oregon – Portland
- Pennsylvania – Philadelphia (North)
- Pennsylvania – Philadelphia (South)
- Pennsylvania – Pittsburgh
- Tennessee – Memphis
- Tennessee – Nashville
- Texas – Austin
- Texas – Dallas
- Texas – Houston
- Utah – Salt Lake City
- Virginia – Richmond
- Vermont – Burlington
- Washington – Seattle
- Wisconsin – Milwaukee