Microbe Mission

Welcome to Microbe Mission! In this event, teams will answer questions, solve problems and analyze data pertaining to microbes. 

The information below should not be interpreted as an extension of the rules. You can find free online copies of the current rules for download on the 2025 Rules page of the Science Olympiad website. The official rules in the current Rules Manual take precedence. 

Resources & Links

• American Society for Microbiology - Education Resources
• Open Educational Resources - Microbiology
• BioEd Online - Teacher Resources
• Curated Microbe Mission resources from our friends at LabXchange > Excel download
• Open Textbook Library: “Microbiology”
• Online virtual microscopy lab
• Harvard Microbial Sciences Initiative K-12 Microbiology resources
• HHMI Biointeractive Winogradsky Column
• The Joyful Microbe: Science Blog & Educational Activities
• 2018 Power Point
• 2018 Internet Resources
• 2018 Microscopy Review
• 2018 Training Handout
• 2017 Training Handout 
• 2017 Training Handout - Microscopy
• 2017 Training Handout - Disease 
• 2017 Training Handout - Food 
• 2017 Training Handout - Industry 
• 2017 Training Handout - Groups 
• 2017 Training Handout - Ecology

Science Olympiad Store Resources

• Starter Pack - Microbe Mission
• 2025 National Test Packet

Practice Problems & Tests

• Practice Test - 2025 Bulls SO Invitational 
• Practice Test - 2025 Archimedean Satellite Invitational
• Practice Test - 2025 Purdue Invitational 
• Practice Test - 2025 USC Invitational
• Practice Test - 2025 UT Austin Invitational
• Practice Test - 2025 Mason High School Invitational
• Practice Test - 2023 Brown University Invitational
• Practice Test - 2023 Archimedean Invitational
• 2018 Sample Test
• 2017 Sample Test 

EVENT SUPERVISOR RESOURCES

In addition to the resources on the Event Supervisors page, Microbe Mission Event Supervisors should be sure to use the following resources:

• 2025 Event Logistics Resource 

CAREER CONNECTIONS

• Career OneStop - Occupation Profile: Biochemists and Biophysicists
• Career OneStop - Career Video: Biological Technicians
• US Bureau of Labor Statistics - Microbiologist