Math/Science Field Day

Competitions Registration Deadline & Required Forms Schedule of Events Project Competition Practice for Math Exam Donations Contact Information

science student in lab

Welcome to Math/Science Field Day at Scottsdale Community College

Bring your math and science students to a fun and educational day at Scottsdale Community College!

The 30th Annual Math/Science Field Day will be held on Thursday, January 15, 2026. Students can win scholarships to Scottsdale Community College and many other prizes throughout the day by participating in various competitions. The event is free for all teachers and students who have registered. Light refreshments will be provided in the morning. Lunch will also be provided for students and their faculty sponsors.

Join us for a great way to start the Spring Semester!

“Being a part of Math-Science Field Day helps students have a better perspective of where they will fit in when they move on from high school. It also helps ground them by exposing them to other exceptional students.” ~ E. Mills, Coronado HS

Competitions

It is important to note that students cannot participate in two or three competitions at once. The Project Competition, the Math Exam, and the Science Preliminary Competition occur simultaneously. When the students compete, the teachers will have a special speaker!

Each school may bring a team of up to 6 students to participate in the math exam. No more than 2 students can be from a given course level; Algebra 2/Geometry, Pre-Calculus, or Calculus. Students will be judged by course level, not by grade level. All students take the same exam. The exam is a one-hour written exam. Any calculator similar to a TI-83/84 is permitted. Exams and solutions from the previous year can be found at the website listed at the bottom of this page.

Each school may bring 1 or 2 teams of 3 students each to participate in the science preliminary competition. This is a one-hour oral competition in a questions-and-answer team format. Questions are in the areas of biology, chemistry, and physics.

Each school may enter 1 team of 3 students. All teams will be given a task to complete in a fixed amount of time. The task will utilize skills from mathematics and science as well as teamwork. Some preparation is needed for this event. See our website under the link “Project Competition.”

Based on the top-scoring schools in the Science Preliminary Competition and the Math Exam, three schools will be asked to field a team of 4 students for the final competition. This will be an oral competition in a question-and-answer format with questions in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics.

To help us keep within our budget, please bring up to 2 faculty sponsors only.

science student holding molecules model

Registration Deadline & Required Forms

By Monday, December 22, 2025, please send in a completed registration form found on our website. You may submit the form online or email the registration form. Early-bird prizes will be awarded to the schools that register before the deadline. Email:  patricia.dueck@scottdalecc.edu

Registration is not open for the 2026 event.

Math/Science Field Day Combined Sign-in Sheets Packet (coming soon!)

Schedule of Events

Time Event Place
8 - 9:45 am Registration & Math/Science Carnival SL Building
10 - 11 am Math Exam, Science Prelims, Project Creation Various Rooms
11 - 11:30 am Lunch (provided) Two Waters Circle
11:45 am - 12:15 pm Project Competition Performing Arts Center
12:30 - 1 pm Final Round Performing Arts Center
1 - 1:30 pm Awards Performing Arts Center

Time Event Place
8:45 - 9:45 am Registration & Math/Science Carnival SL Building
10 - 11 am TBA TBA
11 - 11:30 am Lunch (provided) TBA
11:45 am - 12:15 pm Project Competition Performing Arts Center
12:30 - 1 pm Final Round Performing Arts Center
1 - 1:30 pm Awards Performing Arts Center

Each department in the division brings examples of how their science is useful and shows students live demonstrations.

  • Physics ~ Floating ball, magnetism
  • CNUW ~ Frogs, turtles, Gila monsters
  • Geology ~ Rocks, skulls, sand pit
  • Chemistry ~ Loud pops, bubbling solutions, melting gummy bears
  • Biology ~ Body mass index, percent of fat, heart rate
  • Astronomy ~ Telescopes, model planets
  • Mathematics ~ Computer models, puzzles
  • Forensics ~ Plastering footprints, microscopes
  • Anthropology ~ Bones and more skulls

Past Talks for Faculty

One-Hour Special Session

  • SCC Robotics
  • Liberty Wildlife
  • Physics/Math demonstration of spinning water
  • SCC faculty discussion of pedagogy
  • Geology at SCC
  • 3D Printer Exploration
student examining project

Project Competition

To be Announced in Fall 2025! Check back again for details about the next competition.

“ This project let me use trial and error to test whether the model actually worked. Normally in class it’s just pen and paper. You can’t look at it." ~ Student, Chaparral HS
student standing in front of board with math problems

Practice for Math Exam

Visit the AHSME website, which contains problems like our math exam. Each AHSME exam has many questions similar to our math exam problems. This site also includes answers and solutions.

“The exams involve skills from algebra, geometry, analytic geometry, trigonometry, probability, logic problems, and sometimes a little calculus with all of this coupled with some clever thinking.” ~ MSFD Exam Writer

math/science field day students on stage

Donations

Math/Science Field Day is a free event for high schools across the Scottsdale, AZ area. In order to continue to keep the event free and of a high quality we have set up a way for folks to donate to the event and receive a tax deduction.

If you wish to donate to our Field Day, visit the Donation Page. Under “Gift Designation” choose the designation “ SCC Math/Science Day Scholarship."

Thanks so much for helping to keep our event free!

“My students enjoy meeting students from other schools and seeing how well they compare mathematically. For this year’s event, the team practiced during their math club and went over quiz bowl questions, but the students did not do anything special to prepare. These are the ‘math nerds’ – you don’t have to do much to inspire them, it’s already built in!" ~ Katie Muha, Highland HS

Contact Information