SCIENCE OLYMPIAD · BAY AREA ESO 2027

Bay Area Elementary Science Olympiad 2027.

The 20th annual Bay Area ESO, run by Science Gurus, a parent-run nonprofit in Fremont. Grades 3–6, teams of 4 to 8 students, eleven events across an online Friday evening and an in-person Saturday. Registration is open and closes November 30, 2026. We're not affiliated; we're building prep for it.

GRADES

3 – 6

EVENTS

TEAM SIZE

4 – 8

REGISTRATION CLOSES

Nov 30, 2026

§01 / DATES AND REGISTRATION

Two days. One team of eight.

What the organizers have published for 2027.

Friday, March 26, 20276:00 – 8:30 pm · online theory events via Zoom and Google Forms
Saturday, March 27, 20277:30 am – 5:00 pm · in-person events and awards at Thornton Middle School, 4357 Thornton Ave, Fremont, CA 94536
RegistrationHead coaches register teams at sciencegurus.org. $360 per team. Eligibility: 3rd – 6th grade students from the Bay Area. Deadline November 30, 2026, or earlier if capacity is reached.

THE ORGANIZERS NOTE THAT RULES MAY CHANGE UNTIL NOVEMBER 30. THE EVENT DETAILS DOCUMENT IS THE SOURCE OF TRUTH.

§02 / THE ELEVEN EVENTS

What each event is, in one line.

Names and formats are the organizers'. Full rules and sample questions are in their public folders: Rules · Sample questions.

Anatomy and Physiology
ONLINE THEORY · FRIDAY (ONLINE)
Integumentary, skeletal, and muscular systems.
PREP SPACE PLANNED
Codebusters
IN-PERSON, ANALYTICAL · SATURDAY
Baconian, Porta, Aristocrat, Cryptarithm, Caesar, Atbash.
PREP SPACE PLANNED
Crime Busters
IN-PERSON LAB · SATURDAY
Fingerprints, hair and fiber, soil, powders and liquids.
PREP SPACE PLANNED
Ecology
ONLINE THEORY · FRIDAY (ONLINE)
Ecology and adaptations in North American biomes.
PREP SPACE PLANNED
Engineering CAD
ONLINE, ENGINEERING DESIGN · ONLINE
Parts and an assembly in Onshape, from engineering drawings.
STUDY GUIDE PLANNED
Entomology
ONLINE THEORY · FRIDAY (ONLINE)
Identify insects by order, subclass, or family; dichotomous keys.
PREP SPACE PLANNED
Hovercraft
IN-PERSON BUILD · SATURDAY
A self-propelled air-levitated vehicle run to a target time.
STUDY GUIDE PLANNED
Pentathlon
IN-PERSON RELAY · SATURDAY
Whole team. Math, ecology, solar system, cell biology, geology.
PRACTICE SETS PLANNED
Rubber Band Catapult
IN-PERSON BUILD · SATURDAY
A catapult that shoots a rubber band at a ringed target.
STUDY GUIDE PLANNED
Science Jeopardy
ROUND 1 ONLINE · ROUND 2 IN PERSON · FRIDAY + SATURDAY
A 30-question first round across 15 science topics; top four teams play the finals.
PRACTICE SETS PLANNED
Water Quality
ONLINE THEORY · ONLINE
Freshwater ecology, macroinvertebrates, water monitoring.
PREP SPACE PLANNED

§03 / WHAT WE'RE BUILDING

Prep scoped to these rules, not someone else's.

Honest status: in progress, nothing live for this tournament yet.

For each event, prep built from the organizers' 2027 rules: practice questions in the format the event uses (multiple choice for the online events), an AI coach that only answers inside that event's scope, audio lessons for the car, and study notes to print. The anatomy syllabus is skin, bones, and muscles; the insect list is the organizers' own; the ciphers are the six on their list.

Six events get full prep spaces — Anatomy and Physiology, Codebusters, Crime Busters, Ecology, Entomology, Water Quality. Pentathlon and Science Jeopardy get practice sets across their listed topics, because that is how those events are scored. Hovercraft, Rubber Band Catapult, and Engineering CAD get study guides — they're judged on what you build, not on a test.

Tell us which event matters most to your team and we'll build in that order.