1,000+ high school students build catapults and pole climbers at UBC Physics Olympics

More than 1,000 high school students and teachers from across B.C. will participate in the 48th annual UBC Physics Olympics, showcasing their physics knowledge, creativity, and innovation through a series of competitions.

Eighty-three student teams will compete in six events designed to highlight their understanding of scientific concepts, problem-solving skills and collaborative abilities, including:

• projectile launchers that use a swinging pendulum to launch a hacky sack as far as possible
• pole climbers, which will carry the team’s iPhone up and down a pole in less than a minute
• mystery labs (hints: “buoyancy” and “cratering”)
• “Quizzics”, a physics quiz show
• Fermi questions, inspired by the great 20th-century physicist Enrico Fermi, where students try to answer order-of-magnitude questions, such as “What is the total mass of the students competing in the Physics Olympics today?”

These activities aim to help students experience physics as both exciting and relevant to everyday life, while encouraging teamwork, creativity and scientific thinking.

The UBC Physics Olympics is one of the largest and longest-running high school physics competitions of its kind in North America. The event is organized by faculty, staff and students from the UBC department of physics and astronomy and the department of curriculum and pedagogy, with support from graduate and undergraduate volunteers—many of whom are former Physics Olympics participants.

Event: 48th annual UBC Physics Olympics

Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., awards from 4:20 p.m.

Maps and parking: Various locations at UBC Vancouver. Please email alex.walls@ubc.ca

Interview opportunities:

• high school students and teachers
• Dr. Mike Hasinoff, co-chair and professor of UBC physics and astronomy
• Dr. Aaron Boley, co-chair and professor of UBC physics and astronomy
• Dr. Marina Milner-Bolotin, lead organizer of UBC Physics Olympics and professor of curriculum and pedagogy
• Dr. Jess McIver, Quizzics host
• Dr. Michelle Kunimoto, leader of Cratering lab

Event website: https://physoly.phas.ubc.ca/

Assignment editors: Please RSVP to alex.walls@ubc.ca. 2025 event b-roll available upon request.