BiOlympics is a culmination of biology knowledge and physical strength in HFI’s AP biology class created by the biology teacher Mr. Benavidez. In this game, students team up in groups of five and race, and every participant fires up brainpower as well as bodily strength. There are five stages in total, the escape room, QR code hunting, outdoor workstation, conversion station, and the High-Five lab.

The Escape Room

An envelope was dropped on each team's station, and a stack of multiple-choice questions was covered by a puzzle. In order to get the code for the runway, participants had to answer the questions about cells and decipher the four-digit code, then upload the answers on a given website. Students had to answer four stacks of questions in order to get the final key, though the first pack of questions was given directly to each group, the other three were hidden in the classroom. After digging and figuring out the code, and entering the website with shaking hands, all teams escaped successively!

QR code Hunting

Rushing out of the Aoxiang building, participants became hunters and tracked down QR codes in the parking lot, iStudy, and the hall to the cafeteria. Each QR code posed a question about mitosis and meiosis after scanning, participants were required to note down the answers in a grid to get to the next stage.

Hiding behind the statue in front of the Aoxiang building was a box of materials for carbon dioxide testing. Participants had to test before and after jumping jacks the carbon dioxide production rate which indicates cellular respiration rate and finish a lab worksheet. Team members took different jobs, some did the exercise, and some filled out the worksheet. After the intense outdoor lab, teams hurried back to the initial escape room for the conversion station testing photosynthesis with chlorella. With tacit teamwork, all groups proceeded successfully to the last stage.

The High-Five Lab

Racing up the stairs to the fifth floor of the Gewu building, participants reached the final stage — the high-five lab. Specifically, this stage required students to apply their knowledge of cellular transport and substance testing to observe and record clear images of plasma separation in plant cells and figure out the possible ingredients in a solution. After a series of cutting leaves, adjusting microscopes, and boiling solutions, the BiOlympics ended.

All participants returned to the initial room and enjoyed the winner’s dinner. Interestingly, there was a bonus game — “Chubby Bunnies,” in which participants had to put marshmallows in their mouth without swallowing to articulate “chubby bunnies” and the winner was the one to get the most marshmallows in his or her mouth. Competing teams in the BiOlympics chose delegates to stuff marshmallows in their mouth, and the winner won by filling his mouth with seventeen marshmallows!

Writer: Selena

Editor: Bonnie