You Be The Chemist Challenge

The You Be The Chemist (YBTC) Challenge is an interactive academic competition that engages grade 5-8 students in learning with their peers (and their community!) about important chemistry concepts, scientific discoveries, and laboratory safety.

The Challenge:

• Introduces students to the central role of chemistry in all of the sciences and in their everyday lives.
• Uses the drama of competition to promote science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.
• Provides educators with an exciting way to educate their students and assess their learning.
• Encourages parents to participate in their child's education.
• Allows industry members to connect with their community and actively show their support for science education. 

The Challenge brings students, educators and administrators, parents, industry, and other community members together in an exciting celebration of chemistry!

The 2012 National Challenge will be held on June 25 at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, PA. (Click the link to visit the National Challenge page and catch a glimpse of the excitement!)

You Be The Chemist Challenge Structure

The YBTC Challenge is organized into three competitive levels - local, state, and national. Local Challenges take place in communities nationwide through the collaborative efforts of industry, educators, and other community volunteers. Local Challenge winners move on to participate in State Challenges, and State Challenge winners compete against one another at the National Challenge, organized by CEF. Local and state competitions take place throughout the school year, and the cycle ends with the national competition in June.

For more information about each level of the Challenge and to learn how YOU can get involved, follow the links below:

Get involved with the You Be The Chemist Challenge today!

Visit the Local Challenges page and use the map link to browse a list of active Challenge sites across the country. Learn how you can get involved in your local site, or if there isn't one, how you can champion a Local Challenge site in your community!

To download the current Challenge study materials, visit the Study Materials page of the students section.  

For assistance or more details, please contact us at challenge@chemed.org.
 

YBTC Challenge Rules

A Local Challenge site is a location where a Local Challenge is established with CEF’s consent. All Local Challenge sites must comply with the rules set forth in the 2011-2012 Challenge Guidelines in order to register as an official Local Challenge site.

In addition, all Organizers, student participants, and all others involved in the Challenge must also comply with the rules set for in the 2011-2012 Challenge Guidelines. Please review the document carefully to be sure you understand the rules and act in accordance with those rules.

See the 2011-2012 Challenge Guidelines on the Local Challenges pages for the complete rules and information.

 Study Materials

CEF offers study materials to help students succeed at every level of the Challenge. To prepare for a Challenge competition, students should begin by reviewing the Challenge study materials, including the Passport to Science Exploration and the Periodic Table and the Periodic Table of Atomic Weights handouts. (Students can access these materials at a local library or through their school’s media center if they do not have internet access at home.) Students should not only review the information on the periodic tables, but also be familiar with how to use the periodic tables to obtain additional information about an element or set of elements.

Challenge competition questions are based on an overall understanding of chemistry concepts and the relationships among various chemistry concepts. Please note: Questions are largely derived from information contained in CEF’s study materials but are not limited solely to this information. Students are encouraged to seek additional resources for examples and explanations of chemistry concepts as Challenge competition questions often require students to connect concepts and apply their knowledge of chemistry to both familiar and unfamiliar situations. 

See the Study Materials page to begin exploring the chemistry around you!