Reflections of a Trophy Winner: Isaiah Ajaero’s Oliphant Science Journey
on 15/04/2025
My entry was a SHE task for my Year 12 Biology course. In writing the paper, I was inspired by the potential of a novel and innovative therapy such as CAR T-cell therapy, that seemed to have the potential to produce such a large impact on patients, with a reduction...
OSA Ambassador - Hayden
on 04/04/2025
Get to know Hayden! How did you first get involved in OSA? My science teacher at Primary School encouraged all the students to enter. In year 5 I did two projects and really enjoyed them. Why do you participate? I entered the for a new experience, to gain knowledge and...
OSA Ambassador - Zoe
on 24/03/2025
Get to know Zoe! How did you first get involved in OSA? I first became involved in the Oliphant Science Awards in Year 5 (2022) when my school had a Scientist-In-Residence, Sophie Dolling. Sophie ran fun science experiments to get students excited about science and asked for participants. I put...
OSA Ambassador - Chloe
on 24/03/2025
Get to know Chloe! How did you first get involved in OSA? My journey with the Oliphant Science Awards began in Year 5 when I saw a poster about the competition at school. With my mother’s encouragement and my science teacher’s guidance, I entered the Models & Inventions category by...
AUSSEF Journey: Representing Australia at ISEF Regeneron 2025
on 25/02/2025
I am truly honoured to write this article for the Oliphant Science Awards community and excited to share my journey — from a curious student entering science competitions to now representing Australia on the world stage at the 2025 International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Regeneron in Columbus, Ohio. My...
Tips & Tricks for a Winning Project
on 30/05/2024
Check out below some advice for putting together your winning Oliphant's project! Have you seen our NEW project checklists? Make sure you've ticked off all the essential elements of your project, from putting it together all the way through to submitting it. Find them on each category page or in...
OSA Ambassador - Sienna
on 07/03/2024
Get to know Sienna! How did you first get involved in OSA? I first became involved in the Oliphant Science Awards in 2020 when I was in year 8 at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College. Our OSA coordinator took notice of my keen interest in science and passion...
Getting your child involved in the Oliphant Science Awards
on 07/03/2024
If your child is passionate about science, the Oliphant Science Awards is a great opportunity for them to explore this interest. Below are a few tips and thoughts from parents who have been involved in the competition: Let them find something they're passionate about and see how they can explore...
OSA Ambassador - Jackson
on 07/03/2024
Get to know Jackson! How did you first get involved in OSA? I still remember it like it was yesterday, I was sitting down in a school assembly next to my best friend sitting through what seemed to be a boring assembly until something caught my attention. The science teacher...
OSA Ambassador - Shaya
on 07/03/2024
Get to know Shaya! How did you first get involved in OSA? I was introduced to OSA when I was in Year 5 at Norwood PS. A few of my close friends had participated the previous year and enjoyed making and presenting their submission. As I was also very interested...
RACI Crystal Growing Competition Winners
on 05/12/2023
This year, all winning and highly commended entries in Crystal Investigation from the Oliphant Science Awards were entered into the National RACI Crystal Growing Competition. We are excited to announce a number of winners from the competition this year! K-2 1st - Remy Durham, Annesley Junior School 2nd - Clara...
Bringing Back the Bandicoots to Frank Smith
on 25/09/2023
Coromandel Valley Primary School students and their science teacher Sarah Todd recently entered the Oliphant Science Awards Citizen Science category and won the primary years category! You can view their Citizen Science entry here. And you can track their journey through the process so far through some media articles below. ...
Past experience & Photography tips from Lila & Lara
on 12/07/2023
Lila and Lara, Wilderness School Check out the video Lila & Lara created to share their Oliphant Science Awards experience with you: We love science because you can experiment, test ideas and learn from you mistakes. Science is useful, for example it’s used in cooking and sports. We love learning...
How to Create a Successful OSA Project
on 05/07/2023
Ashleigh Fourie, Southern Vales Christian College – Morphett Vale OSA past projects and the steps to achieving it My first time presenting an Oliphant science project without a group / partner was last year and it was on the topic of creating Energy Transformation. I really enjoyed the process of...
Community is the Key to Success
on 28/06/2023
By Rachel Pillar, Brayden Wilson, Natasha Florance and Lenny Laver, Kangaroo Island Community Education 2022 was quite the year for Kangaroo Island Community Education (KICE) in the Oliphant Science Awards. After several years spent building the profile of the Awards at KICE and some great successes, forty-five KICE students registered...
Tips and Suggestions from a past OSA Winner
on 14/06/2023
Connor Wallace, Scotch College I love science! I’m sure you do too, that’s why you are also interested in the Oliphant Science Awards Competition (OSAC). I am in Year 6 and will be entering the OSAC for the sixth time this year. Each year, I find it quite difficult to...
Oliphant Science Awards Photography 2021
on 20/07/2022
Each year we like to present some of the standout individual images entered in the photography competition (randomly chosen). Here is a small selection, all of which came from projects that received either awards or which came highly commended. Perhaps this helps you with your projects. Photographer: Priti Jivtani, Eman...
Science Writing ideas
on 15/06/2022
Are you stuck on your Science Writing entry? Here are some great places to start or some resources to add to your current project! Click on the links below. Bioluminescence Have you been hunting for ghost mushrooms? We are proud to have the Clean Air Society of Australia & New...
Air Quality: Emissions and Monitoring
on 15/06/2022
We're excited to have the Clean Air Society of Australia & New Zealand sponsoring the Science Writing category this year! They have an amazing prize on offer for year 9-12 students for the best student entry from Science Writing or Scientific Inquiry that addresses Air Quality: Emissions and Monitoring. The...
Programming, Apps & Robotics appointments now open
on 14/06/2022
If you have registered a Programming, Apps & Robotics project for the Oliphant Science Awards, you are now able to book your appointment with our judges! Appointments can be booked online here. Don't forget that you also need to upload your report via our online project submission platform by Friday...
Judging the Models & Inventions Category
on 08/06/2022
What is it like to be a judge in the Oliphant Science Awards? We met some previous judges and asked them why they think the Oliphants are important, why they judge and whether they had any hints or tips for entrants. Models & Inventions Category Sam Moyle (Brighton Secondary School)...
Crystal Investigation: control of temperature
on 01/06/2022
by Ian McMahon The first article in the blog focussed on two of the principal factors that can affect the success of growing award winning crystals. These were the quality of the solute, alum – how pure is it? and the quality of the solvent, water - again related to...
Judging the Games Category
on 11/05/2022
What is it like to be a judge in the Oliphant Science Awards? We met some previous judges and asked them why they think the Oliphants are important, why they judge and whether they had any hints or tips for entrants. Games Category Anita Trenwith (Uni SA Connect Team: SASTA...
Eugene Lee - Oliphant Science Trophy Winner 2021
on 04/05/2022
by Eugene Lee, Pedare Christian College I'm so honoured and privileged to have received the Oliphant Trophy. I’ve participated in the Oliphant Science Awards every year since I was a Year three student in 2017, where I won the Australian Institute of Physics Prize and First Place for my Models...
Crystal Investigation
on 27/04/2022
by Ian McMahon The substance, alum, is almost the principal factor for achieving some degree of success in growing good crystals. The percentage purity of the alum needs to be high so that contaminant particles do not disrupt the proper crystal formation. The source of alum therefore must be considered...