IMPORTANT UPDATE ARCHIVES ('04/'05)

May 9, 2005 - Based on on-site observations, Division B participation, verbal feedback, function, support and Tournament Evaluation results, the 1st Annual National Science Decathlon tournament was a tremendous success!!! Thanks to all of those who helped facilitate the tournament. And a special thanks to the students and coaches who recognized the value of such an opportunity and followed through on their commitment(s) to participate when it counted the most. Thanks. Tournament Scores

April 30, 2005 - The Event Contract has been posted. (.pdf download)

April 16, 2005 - Blue Planet participants will be allowed to bring and use a 1" three-ringed binder of student prepared materials and up to two text books during both Division A and B competition.

February 2, 2005 - Happy Ground Hog Day! And, the Final Drafts of the 2005 Science Decathlon Rules are now available for download and print.

January 21, 2005 - Exceptional News! Kevin Pattison, a quick study and middle school science teacher from Rainier, Oregon, has agreed to serve as the Director for the Pacific Southwest Conference which will now include Oregon. This spring/early summer, Kevin will be focused on providing leadership, resources and information for Oregon Science Decathlon teams. Later, probably 2005-2006, he will look at identifying Pacific Southwest Conference partners and participants and establishing a PSC Science Decathlon Conference Tournament and State, Regional and District tournaments throughout Oregon, California and Arizona. His new Science Decathlon e-mail address is: rocketman@sciencedecathlon.com.

January 3, 2005 - Okay. Draft Rules for all of the '05 Team Events and two of the '05 Pilot Events have been made available for (.pdf) download. Yeah! They are far from perfect. However, as far as can be identified, the basics are there and specifications will not be changed without there being siginificant reason to do such. If the need to change anything does arise, accurate information will be posted here and notices will be sent to those who sign-up for the Science Decathlon Listserve (below).

Likewise, your assistance is requested. Please begin working with these rules. If you find errors, vague/confusing/conflicting descriptions or anything else you might warrant editing please send individual messages to: '05 Draft Rules or present your insights on the Science Decathlon Listserve. The community drafting period will end February 1, 2005. Thank you!

January 1, 2005 - Happy New Year! Draft Rules for all of the '05 Team Events and three of the Pilot Events have been completed. These should be available for download Monday evening or Tuesday. If you are itching to see specifics immediately, individual copies of the Draft Rules can be forwarded by e-mail. Just send a request to: '05 Draft Rules

December 24, 2004 - Merry Christmas! Having just completed a one-week crash course of Linux 101, Draft Rules for TechMaster are now posted. It should be a great event!!! Even though these are Draft Rules, the basics are there. Give it a shot. It might be a bit difficult to get started. But, it is almost guaranteed that if you master this event you can truly call yourself a TechMaster.

Also in the hopper, complete and nearly complete are Draft Rules for Blue Planet, Entomology, Scientific Method, Bridge Breaking, Cranefly and Ornithology. It is going to be tight meeting the January 1, 2005 deadline for all of the 2004 -2005 events, especially with Christmas and New Years rounding out the year, but it is doable. Keep an eye out. They will be posted as soon as possible.

November 23, 2004 - Draft Rules for Water Rocketry and Stump-The-Panel, essentials for getting your team started, have been posted. Visit the Draft Updates page to download printable versions of these rules.

November 22, 2004 - Here's an encouraging statement made by Mr. Burt Rutan while being interviewed for a CBS Sixty-Minutes presentation:

"I was fascinated by putting balsa wood together in a different way to see how it would fly. And when I started having the capability to do contests and actually win a trophy by making a better model, then I was hooked."

In case you are not aware, Mr. Burt Rutan just won the ten million dollar X-Prize for successfully designing, building and launching the first privately built, re-usable space craft, Spaceship One.

Competition-based science education is not for everyone. But, it is certainly important for a good percentage of our population. Register now to reserve space for your team at the 2004-2005 National Science Decathlon Tournament today.

November 7, 2004 - Just checking in. Lots of progress on further development of Science Decathlon. Great progress on team recruiting and National Tournament preparation. Not much progress on development of a Washington Science Decathlon Championship Tournament. If you'd like details, please write. Or, better yet, sign up to be able to receive and participate in Science Decathlon Listserve discussions. The Yahoo! subscription form is at the bottom of every Science Decathlon web page.

September 14, 2004 - Sites for a Science Decathlon Practice Tournament and the 1st Annual National Science Decathlon Tournament have been secured. The 1st Annual National Science Decathlon tournament will be hosted by Monroe High School May 7, 2005. The Science Decathlon Practice Tournament will be hosted by Chimacum Middle School (near Port Townsend), December 4, 2004.

May 7, 2004 - This site has only been under construction since May 3, 2004. Please forgive the fact that much content still needs to be added. Considering, much has been accomplished. The majority of the content is complete. The delay in posting to this website is just a matter of making sure everything is presented in an orderly, professional and proper manner. Please keep checking back, writing and/or getting involved as soon as you are comfortable with doing so. Initial completion of this site will be in a manner of days, weeks at the latest. Thanks.