Michael Smith Science Challenge
*2024-25 Academic Year Update: We regret that we will not be running the Michael Smith Science Challenge this year.
*2023-24 Academic Year Update: We regret that we will not be running the Michael Smith Science Challenge this year.
For questions please contact mschall@phas.ubc.ca.
The Michael Smith Science Challenge is a bilingual national competition written by students in Grade 10 Science or lower. It emphasizes logical thinking and covers material in the science curriculum common to all provinces. It is named in honour of UBC’s Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Michael Smith and is sponsored by the UBC Faculty of Science. Prizes are awarded to the top students (and their teachers) in each province, territory, and nationally.
**Due to the recent changes to Canada’s anti-spam legislation, please subscribe to the Michael Smith Challenge Update to continue receiving information (such as challenge date, registration opening date, and registration reminders) regarding the Challenge.
Prizes
We reserve the right not to give a provincial prize if the top mark from that province is lower than the national average, or if less than 20 students or three schools participate from that province. We also reserve the right, in the event of a draw, to depart from our stated list of national prizes.
Nationally: 1st – $500, 2nd – $250, 3rd – $100
Provincially: $100 for the top student without a national prize, $50 for each student in a tie
Teachers: $50 for a teacher with a prize-winning student
Results
For the 2021 competition, students were given the questions in a randomized order and could not go back to see a question they had already submitted. For higher security, we randomized number values in 7 of the 8 questions. A randomly selected version of the challenge is posted here, and used in the analysis.
| 2022 Contest | 2022 Contest Solutions/Analysis | Top writers for 2022 |
| 2021 Contest | 2021 Contest Solutions/ Analysis | Top writers for 2021 |
2011-2020
2004-2010
Other Materials
Contact Information
If you have any additional information that is not covered in the Teacher’s Instruction guide, please e-mail us at mschall@phas.ubc.ca