Welcome to UBC Physics Olympics Website
We are thrilled to announce that the 47th Physics Olympics will be held on Saturday, March 1st, 2025!
Already planning, our Physics Olympics Committee has been ordering test equipment and materials, is recruiting student volunteers to help test pre-builds and lab designs, and we’re reviewing our rule book. This next event will be a true day of talent and friendship and we’re excited to see it realized in the coming months.
We will be offering a teacher’s workshop in November (see more details and Registration button, below) for new and experienced teachers who would like to participate and chat about the event with colleagues.
All new information will be shared on this platform. To share comments and ideas, please contact outreach@phas.ubc.ca.
** This event is an in-person event only for schools in British Columbia **
Teacher’s Workshop
November 21st from 7:00-8:00pm via zoom. [*Zoom link and further details will be sent to registrants closer to the event].
Are you a new physics teacher? Feeling hesitant to sign up your class for this event as you don’t know what it takes?
Join us for this enjoyable and friendly annual Teacher’s Workshop, bringing together new and experienced high school teachers and students with our event organizers to answer all your questions about how to prepare your class for participating in this event and how to make every heat count!
We provide a lot of support, and so does your community of physics teachers. Be part of the biggest High School physics competition in Canada! Register for this workshop, today!
Physics Facility Tours [details coming soon!]
Part of the fun of coming to UBC from different parts of the province is to see a bit of UBC campus, including some of our physics & astronomy research facilities. As in previous years, we will be organizing tours [Dates/Times/location TBD]. More information will be posted here, soon!
About the Physics Olympics
Every year teams from high schools across British Columbia compete in six physics & astronomy events. The team with the highest overall score receives a trophy for their school, as well as other awards. Up to five students from a team can participate in any given event, and different students from a team can participate in different events. As such, teams may have between 1 and 30 students.
While every school team must have a designated coach on the day of the competition, we do not require that the coach be the physics teacher for the school. Any responsible adult may serve as the designated coach, including teachers, parents, administrators, or friends.
Details concerning the logistics of the event are included in the rule book. School teams arrive at the lobby of the Hennings Building around 8:30 am to register, receive the envelope with all the information, and store the pre-builds. The schedule runs from 9am-5pm (approximately). UBC Physics Olympics takes place in the following buildings: Hennings, Hebb, and IRC (Woodward). These buildings can be located on UBC map: http://www.maps.ubc.ca/PROD/index.php .
The interactive map for wayfinding at UBC can be found here: http://www.maps.ubc.ca/PROD/index.php
To see past projects please see the Results page for videos!
Download Your 2025 Physics Olympics Poster Here:
Physics Olympics Feedback
“Some of the highlights of my career were my trips to UBC for the Physics Olympics. It was always a valuable experience for me and the students I brought down.” – Tom Nagy, Physics teacher (Mount Boucherie Secondary, West Kelowna)
“The UBC PO is always a highlight of our students’ school year.” – Louay El Halabi, Physics teacher (Semiahmoo Secondary, Surrey BC)
Thank YOU so much for all the hard work that went into making this happen. My students learned so much these past few weeks preparing and enjoyed themselves tremendously. It was a terrific learning opportunity as always.
– Mrs. Greenwood, Physics/Computer Programming Teacher
2024 Physics Olympics participating teams
Click on the map to open in a new tab.
Looking for something else?
*Looking for information about the International Physics Olympiad? The International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) is the World Championship Physics Competition for High School students and is held annually in a different country. For the official IPhO website, please see here. The national student team to represent Canada for 2023 will be selected from top placements in the annual Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) High School Prize Exam. For more information, please see the Canadian Physics Olympiad program page here.