The 1985 Science Olympiad National Tournament was the inaugural edition of the National Science Olympiad tournament, a middle and high school science competition in which students compete in a number of science-themed events. The tournament was hosted by Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, and featured 48 teams from 18 states. Two competition divisions were held: Division B allowed competitors from grades 6–9, and Division C allowed competitors from grades 9–12.
Slauson Intermediate School (now Slauson Middle School), from Ann Arbor, Michigan, won the inaugural Division B championship, and Seaholm High School, from Birmingham, Michigan, won the inaugural Division C championship. Largely because of the novelty of the competition, and the fact that the competition was founded in Michigan, only one school from outside the state – Neenah High School from Neenah, Wisconsin – finished in the top three in either division.
The tournament received sponsorship from the United States Army Recruiting Command, Merrill Publishing Company, Ward Cenco Laboratory Supplies, and Carolina Biological Supplies.[1] Michigan State would go on to host the national tournament the following year, and the tournament would return to Michigan in 1998 when it was hosted by Grand Valley State University.
The only three teams from Michigan swept the top three positions of the Division B competition, with Slauson Intermediate School, Shelby Junior High School, and Forest Hills Central Middle School taking gold, silver, and bronze.