Overview
The Space Olympics is an established educational program Founded by ISA - Israel’s space agency in 2014, named after Ilan Ramon; the 1st Israeli astronaut.
It's goal is to inspire young minds to explore the vast wonders of the cosmos.
In the 2023-2024 school year 7000 students from 348 schools participated.
The competition is divided into 2 age groups:
1st level - 4th—6th grade students
2nd level - 7th—9th grade students
Each age group has age-appropriate tasks
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Time table
Enrolment start - 15/08/2024
Azerbaijan training of teachers - 07-08/10/2024
Student kick off webinar - 28/10/2024
Task 1 - 28/10 - 25/11
Task 2 - 09/12 - 13/01
Task 3 - 27/01 - 03/03
Task 4 - 17/03 - 28/04 – > Finals in Israel 29/05/2025
Rules & Regulations
The purpose of the competition
The competition promotes scientific excellence among students and encourages creative thinking. It reveals to the participants new worlds of content and encourages study and deepening in the fields of science and space.
Target population
Elementary students (grades 4-6) and middle school students (grades 7-9).
The elementary school competition and the mid-school competition are separate from each other.
Each group can have up to 20 students.
Several groups can be registered from the same school.
Registration
The registration is for groups of students in the target population only.
Before the final stage, schools are asked to send a list of the participating students.
The registration is done by a teacher at the school, with the consent of the school principal, using an online registration form.
It is hereby clarified that the school representative's delivery of a signed registration form constitutes confirmation and agreement to the terms and conditions of the competition regulations.
Stages and schedule
An online opening event for teachers and administrators wich describes the olympics.
An online opening event for students to kick off the olympics.
Each stage has a designated main theme, as follows:
Stage I - an online task.
Stage II - a community project.
Stage III - designing a model.
Stage IV - building a model.
At any case where a certain stage can not be carried out in the specified format, an alternative format will be defined, and appropriate detailed instructions will be distributed beforehand.
Contact
During the competition period, the participants may reach out to the organizers by e-mail
Israel - space@uingame.co.il
Azerbijan - space@azercosmos.az
Documentation of the teams' work
During the various stages of the competition, documentation activities may be carried out, such as a camera crew arriving at some of the schools. In no case, will these activities have any effect on the judging process. Participating schools are asked to sign permission to photograph and publish photos of the students on social networks and in the publications of the national space agency.
Judgment
The scores for the various stages are determined according to a designated stage indicator. The teams are ranked according to their achievements. The identity of the winning groups in the final event is determined according to their achievements in the finals.
It is important to note that each stage is a separate scoring unit, and points are not accumulated between stages.
Announcement of the results
A few days after the end of each stage, the teams will receive a notification of who passed on the the next stage.
Awards
The three teams that rank first win a prize which is revealed in the finals.
Certificates of participation are awarded to all participants in the finals.
National committee
The project steering committee consists of representatives of the National space olympics committee. The committee discusses and makes decisions as needed during the project's execution stages.
General conditions
The national committee organizes and operates the competition. All decisions concerning the competition, including nomination submissions, selection of winners, prizes, and other decisions, are according to the regulations and the decision of the steering committee. The committee's decision is not appealable except if the operator has provided a special form for the school's request for re-examination.
The competition and each stage begins and ends on the dates set and published by the competition operator. The operator is entitled to change the rules of the competition, as stipulated in these regulations, while consulting the steering committee if necessary, provided that a notice is published in advance on the competition's website.
Questions and Answers
Q: When does the competition practically open?
A: The first stage starts on 28.10.24.
Q: What does the competition involve?
A: The competition involves solving tasks of increasing complexity at predetermined times. It is recommended that a team meet once a week for two school hours to work on the tasks.
Q: What is the cost of participating in the Space Olympics?
A: The competition is run by the national space agence therefore the participation for schools is free of charge.
Q: What are the characteristics of the selected supervising teacher?
A: Any motivated teacher who wants to lead a group can be a mentor. No prior knowledge is required, but good digital literacy is a must.
Q: What is the teacher's role in the competition?
A: The competition is based on the student's independent learning and the teacher's guidance and leadership of the group. The teachers are the leaders of the team, and their role is to help students succeed in the tasks, maintain fairness, encourage self-learning, time management, teamwork, and overcoming social challenges.
Q: What should you prepare before the beginning of the year?
A: A group of up to 20 motivated students interested in the field must be formed. The education staff will determine the group's composition.
Before the beginning of the year, you should verify the school computers are available and working;
Make sure the students have a Google account (perhaps one of the Ministry of Education with uniform identification) to access the various digital tools.
Q: How do you choose students for the team?
A: First, it is worth emphasizing appropriate and friendly behavior as a basic condition for participation. Beyond that, there are several common methods for selecting students, but there is not one correct way. Here are some example methods:
Method 1: Offer students the opportunity to join and accept the team based on their desire, inner passion, high school grades, and ability to persevere.
Method 2 - open the registration to anyone who wants and relies on natural filtering.
Method 3 - sort the best nominees according to your own method (for example, write an essay on why you are suitable for the Olympics).
Q: What is the allowed group size?
A: A group will include of up to 20 students. Participating in the competition is a huge benefit for the students, who are exposed to the latest content in the field, develop important skills of dealing with complex material, creative thinking and working in groups. Therefore, it is recommended to recruit the maximum allowed number of students for the group.
Q: How do you encourage teamwork?
A: Before tackling the tasks, it is recommended to start with the team building activity to create cohesion among the students and establish pride in the group.
Q: How do you submit an assignment?
A: The submission method will be detailed in the task assignment itself.
Q: Who is the competition for?
A: The competition is for school grades of 4-6 or 7-9.
Q: Is it possible to register for the competition independently?
A: The competition takes place in a school format; therefore, registration is only available through the school.
Q: What happens to those who do not succeed in one of the stages?
A: The stages are eliminating stages, and not all teams will continue to the next competition stage.
Access to the tasks remains open even to those who left the competition early.
It is possible to submit a request for re-examination through the website.
The scores for the various stages of the quiz will be determined according to a designated indicator for each stage.
The teams will move up a stage according to their score.
The winning teams in the final stage will be determined according to the score of the final task. Additional winning categories may also be defined.
It is important to note that each stage is a separate scoring unit, and points are not accumulated between them.
Q: How do I verify my registration has been accepted?
A: The competition website shows the participating schools.
Q: How do I receive the competition tasks?
A: The tasks are displayed on the competition website.