Clue In To Science
Division: A- Elementary
NC Essential Standards Alignment: K-6 Science & Math Essential Standards
Event Rules: See 2025 Division A Rules Manual
Description:
Team members are given four progressively narrower clues about a famous scientist. After each clue, teams will write an answer in the appropriate box on the answer sheet.
Event leaders Will provide clues for 20 scientists, a laminated copy of the Official Name list (1 per team), scoresheets for each team, and one permanent marker for each team.
Materials:
Must bring two working pens. Pencils are not allowed.
Scoring:
- High score wins.
- Teams earn 4 points for guessing the Scientist’s Name correctly on the first clue, 3 points on the second, 2 points on the third, 1 point on the fourth, and 0 points for not guessing the scientist.
In the event of a tie, the first tiebreaker is the team with the most names guessed on the first guess. The second tiebreaker is the team with the most names guessed on the second guess. The third tiebreaker is the team with the most names guessed on the third guess. The fourth tiebreaker is the team with the most names guessed on the fourth guess. The final tiebreaker is the team that guessed the most scientists in a row no matter what guess they got it correct on.
Study Tips:
- Group people by where they were born or by what timeframe they lived in
- Group people by countries or regions of the world
- Group people by decade of birth
- Science a to z website
- Use a world map to show where people lived. Put a string connected to an index card with info about them.
- Make a timeline of people
- Have students write clue cards to quiz their partner
Lesson Plans:
Scientist Project
Draw a Scientist
Event Resources:
Sample topics to guide student research: biographical information, accomplishments (discovery, awards, etc), scientific impact, field of science, etc.
Famous Scientists
Britannica
Famous Scientists & Inventions
Famous Scientists in History
100 Greatest Scientists
Practice Game