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Elementary Science Olympiad · Virginia

Virginia Division A — dates, events, and how to prepare

Run by Virginia Science Olympiad (the state organisation, Fairfax) for grades 3–5, Northern Virginia — Fairfax and Burke. A 22-event slate and a rule manual you can read today. Here is what is on the list — and which of it your kid can practise on OlyPrep now.

§01 / This season
Registration closesDecember 11, 2026
Woodson tournament · FairfaxMarch 6, 2027
Lake Braddock tournament · BurkeApril 3, 2027
WhoGrades 3–5
HomeschoolHomeschool teams allowed when every student lives within two contiguous counties

From the program's own pages, read October 2026. Dates change — the official page is the one to trust.

§02 / The events

The 22 events

Astronaut LanderCodebustersGliderOpticsRubber Band HelicopterTower BuildingAstronomyEnergyHovercraftPeriodic TableSail CarAnatomyBungee DropGeneticsHydraulicsRoad ScholarSuper SleuthsBalloon RacerPicture ThisBiomesTruss BridgeHuman Body

A custom 22-event slate; the last five are third grade only. 2026–27 rule manual published Sept 8, 2026.

The rule manual has every event's scope — read it there; we link, we don't copy.

§03 / What OlyPrep has for this list

Biomes — same scope; Codebusters, Super Sleuths, Human Body — partly; Hovercraft — a free build guide

BiomesSame scope — our Ecology topic (marine ecosystems (light); third grade only)
CodebustersPartly — our Codebusters topic covers the core; not yet: PigPen, Polybius Square, Running Man, Vigenère (key given) — 4 of 8 cipher types
Super SleuthsPartly — our Crime Busters topic covers the core; not yet: the powder method differs (water, magnet, pH paper — no reagents); metals, recyclable plastics, shoe/tire prints, DNA chromatograms
Human BodyPartly — our Anatomy topic covers the core; not yet: 7 of its 9 systems (digestive, respiratory, circulatory, excretory, nervous, sensory, endocrine); third grade only
HovercraftA build guide, free
AnatomyNot yet — the digestive system only
The other 16Not yet — tell us which, below

OlyPrep is built to the Bay Area Elementary Science Olympiad's rules. We read Virginia Division A's rules event by event: where the scope is the same, the practice is the same; where it isn't, we'd rather say so than hand your kid the wrong material.

§04 / Middle school

Virginia's middle-school circuit is Virginia Science Olympiad — Science Olympiad's Division B, one national rulebook.

§05 / Tell us
Two questions

Which events is your kid in?

OlyPrep is built to the Bay Area Elementary Science Olympiad's rules today. Where Virginia Division A's events share that scope, the practice is the same; the rest we count and tell you when it's ready — the Bay Area topics are open to your kid meanwhile.

Free · we count the rest