The 2026 ACS Orange County Chemistry Olympiad Local Section Exam (LSE) competition will take place on Saturday, February 28, 2026, from 8:45 am to11:00 am in the Liberal Arts (LA) building at Irvine Valley College, Irvine, CA 92618. (Note: Competitors will have to purchase a parking pass at the kiosk if they wish to park in the campus lot.)
A group of top individual students on the LSE, typically about 10-12 in number, will advance to the US National Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO), which will be held on Saturday April 18, 2026. This exam is 4.75 hours long (plus breaks), and includes written & lab components. The top twenty scorers in the entire U.S. on the USNCO will be invited to attend the National Study Camp in June.
The top four students at the National Study Camp will represent the U.S. at the 58th International Chemistry Olympiad which is tentatively scheduled for July 10-19, 2026, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The top student from each school, the top six school teams and those who competed in the USNCO will be honored at the Orange County High School Chemistry Awards Banquet in May.
Read here for more background about the Chemistry Olympiad competition.
For questions, please contact Stacey Hamamura at edchair2@ocacs.org or Stephanie Nobles at edchair1@ocacs.org.