Competing for science glory
Science Bowl has high-schoolers vying for national honors
Kyle Ferguson
|
Forty-eight teams of Iowa high school students filled Howe and Hoover halls on Saturday to participate in the 18th annual Regional Science Bowl.
Starting at 8 a.m., the five-person teams battled each other in academic challenges that covered topics ranging from earth science to physics and math.
"We put out the word that we are holding this bowl, and schools sign up if they're interested," said Steve Karsjen, program director of Ames Laboratory.
"We are one of the largest bowls in the Department of Energy system. Very few other regionals have 48 teams in one day."
The event is one of 66 regional Science Bowl events throughout the country.
The winners of each receive an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. in early May for the national competition.
The national champions receive electronic equipment for their school and an all-expense-paid trip to one of a few destinations the Department of Energy offers.
They will also visit the White House and meet the president.
"In 1998, Valley High School won the nationals, and they went to Germany to meet and talk with Nobel laureates," Karsjen said.
Approximately 90 volunteers, consisting of Ames Lab employees and ISU students, faculty and staff, were needed for moderating and scoring each of the competitions.
"I got an e-mail about this event, and it sounded like a good time," said Brad Miller, program coordinator in agronomy."This might have been something I would have liked to do if I was their age."
Jake Smithand Steven Machir, seniors at Winterset High School, said their team was probably not as prepared as the others coming into the competition.
"We were told about this the day before, actually," Smith said.
Machir laughed off the consequences of the short notice.
"The five of us didn't have anything better to do, so we signed up. What's sleep to us?" he said.
Next year, the team plans to study more for this bowl.
"Steve and I are graduating, but I'm pretty sure the others on our team are going to do this next year," Smith said.
Karsjen said he was glad to see young people taking an interest in learning more about math and science.
"This is really about creating the spark of interest in young people," he said.
"Bringing together 90 volunteers is quite an effort, and we are fortunate to have that many people who are interested in competitions of this type, both volunteers and students."
Terms Of Use
In order to facilitate fair and focused discussion, the Iowa State Daily requires that all participants adhere to the following forum rules. All user feedback will be posted immediately upon submission and will be monitored by the user community. Forum participants are encouraged to report any feedback that does not comply with the rules. Although the Daily reserves the right to remove posts and/or block users if these rules are violated, the staff will not be actively involved in an approval or review process. These terms of use may be modified at any time without notice, and such modifications shall be effective immediately.
All letters to the editor, whether submitted to the online edition or the print edition, and all online story feedback become the property of the Iowa State Daily and may be used in print editions and online editions of the Iowa State Daily. The Daily archives all of its content, which is accessible to readers at any time. Anonymous letters will not be accepted. Names may be withheld for good cause upon request at the sole discretion of the Daily. Letters may be edited for style, space, clarity and accuracy.
In submitting feedback, you are representing and agreeing that:
Be the first to comment on this story