The University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)’s College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences (CNMS) is excited to host the 3rd Annual UMBC Science Olympiad Invitational Tournament on Saturday, January 17, 2026, for all high school Science Olympiad teams in Maryland and neighboring states.
In this tournament, all teams may compete in each of the 23 official 2026 Science Olympiad events, with the top three teams in each event earning medals within their region, and the top two overall teams of each region taking home a trophy for their school.
Registration for the tournament will open below on September 15, 2025, and will close on November 7, 2025.
Access
In alignment with CNMS’ commitment to inclusive STEM engagement, we are excited to announce that the College will waive all fees to high schools for participation in this tournament to afford broad access to this opportunity for students from diverse communities across Maryland and the mid-Atlantic. (Note: Schools are still responsible for registering their teams with their State Science Olympiad Organization)
We thank our strong volunteer network of UMBC community members for their efforts to make this possible.
Rigor
Participants will have the opportunity to engage in problem-solving with high-quality test materials, conduct experiments in our undergraduate teaching labs, and standardize the testing of their devices at our state-of-the-art scientific facilities.
Events and tests are written under the supervision of our expert committee of chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics and geography engineering faculty, as well as many UMBC graduate and undergraduate student volunteers to provide a valuable, challenging tournament experience. Click here to see our 2025 test keys.
Engagement
We are excited to share the excitement of STEM with new and longtime teams alike, in a friendly competition.
If your school is considering establishing a team, prior to registering for the UMBC Invitational, you will need to declare below with Maryland Science Olympiad (MSO). Once you have declared your teams with Science Olympiad, you can register with the google form below to attend the UMBC Invitational Tournament at no additional cost; to provide excellent practice events to expand your students’ learning, and a chance to explore Science Olympiad as an opportunity for your students.