ASM Materials Camp® Canada

The Materials Olympics

The Materials Olympics is a series of challenges where you will go up against other Ontario secondary school teams to determine who has the greatest mastery of materials science/engineering! Teams of students from secondary schools across Ontario are challenged to design and build solutions to problems with the goal of amplifying the performance of materials.

Every physical item or device that we use in our daily lives is made up of different materials and there was a materials engineer who made the choice as to which material to use. Every material has different properties, and the variation in these properties is what allows us to design devices that can perform different functions. Learning and harnessing this knowledge will provide students with insight into materials science & engineering, both the field and potential career opportunities.

Competition Details

Competition Instructions

Details on the DomesDay Competition can be found in the downloads section below.

Competitions

As in the Olympics, there will be multiple events for students to participate in! One of these, the DomesDay, will be prepared for in advance by each team. The remaining competitions will be done in-person.

DomesDay Competition

Microscopy Competition

Resistance Competition

Materials Trivia Competition

DomesDay Competition

DomesDay Competition follows in the long line of traditional competitions by the ASM. Teams will construct a dome to be mechanically tested at the Olympics. Winners are determined by mechanical performance and presentation of the methodology behind the dome construction.

Microscopy Competition

Materials Trivia Competition

Microscopy Competition

Four different designs have been etched on to four golden pennies (about as thin as 1/10 the width of a human hair). Your team needs to use the optical microscope to find these designs as quickly as possible.

The fastest team to find all four designs wins!

Resistance Competition

Materials Trivia Competition

Microscopy Competition

Teams will be challenged to use the materials provided to build a component with a pre-defined resistance.

The fastest team to complete all four challenges wins!

Materials Trivia Competition

Test your knowledge of materials in a materials science themed trivia game.

Compete against other schools to win!

Prizes & Logistics

Prizes

Prizes are awarded to the school that the team is representing.

DomesDay

DomesDay Winner – $650

Runner-up Metallic Design Award – $300

Runner-up Materials Award – $300

Microscopy

Winner – $250

Resistance

Winner – $250

Materials Trivia

Winners of each Trivia Competition – $50

Transportation

McMaster Materials Engineering community members will be available to guide teams once they arrive on campus. However, teams are expected to arrange their own transportation to McMaster campus. A detailed map of campus can be found here.

Food

Food will not be provided by the event. However, teams are encouraged to utilize on-campus options for food.

Previous Winners

2025 Competition

Award Winners:

DomesDay Overall Winner: Elsie MacGill Secondary School

DomesDay Runner-up Metallic Design Winner: Assumption College

DomesDay Runner-up Materials Winner: Garth Webb Secondary School

Resistance Challenge: St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School

Microscopy Challenge: Sherwood Secondary School

Materials Trivia Winners: Iroquois Ridge High School, T.A. Blakelock, Sherwood Secondary School, Brantford Collegiate Institute and Vocational School, Assumption College

2024 Competition

Award Winners:

DomesDay Overall Winner: Goderich District Collegiate Institute

DomesDay Material Innovativeness Winner: Iroquois Ridge High School

Resistance Challenge: Elsie MacGill Secondary School

Microscopy Challenge: Elsie MacGill Secondary School

Materials Trivia Winners: Nora Frances Henderson Secondary School, Brantford Collegiate Institute and Vocational School, Assumption College, Iroquois Ridge High School