National Science Bowl: A Look Into One of the Most Prestigious Science Competitions
Science competitions are one of the best ways to challenge students in topics they are interested in. It is a good way to develop leadership, teamwork and grit skills. It is a good way to grow not only academically but personally and a good way to show colleges what you are capable of! But how do we choose a science competition from the thousands that our nation and even world offer? What are the most prestigious or which one is the most prestigious?
The National Science Bowl is one of the most - if not the most - prestigious science competition within the United States. Some of us may have read or heard about the National Science Bowl, but what is it? Who created it? Who can participate? What topics are tested and who have been the recent winners? In this blog post, we will cover every single question and will give more details about the National Science Bowl.
What is the National Science Bowl? How does it work?
It is a nationwide academic competition that tests students’ knowledge in a variety of areas within the fields of science and mathematics. It is held and organized in the United States and it uses a quiz bowl format, and a buzzer system similar to those on popular television games to signal the answers. Teams are composed of four students, one alternate and a teacher who serves as an advisor and coach throughout the whole competition.
Each winning team of each regional Science Bowl competition is invited to participate in the finals that are held in Washington, D.C. But before that, schools have to follow certain guidelines to qualify and be registered according to its geographic location. It is important to note that schools cannot register in multiple regional competitions, but most regional competitions permit schools to register up to three teams, which opens opportunities for all those schools who have more than five students interested in participating and representing the school.
Who created the NSB?
In 1991, The Department of Energy (DOE) created the National Science Bowl with the goal of encouraging students to excel in mathematics and science and to promote the pursuit of careers in these fields. Approximately 330,000 students have participated in the National Science Bowl throughout its 32-year history, and in fact it is one of the nation’s largest and most prestigious science competitions.
Who can participate? What topics are tested?
In the fall of each school year, middle and high school students form a team of 4-5 students with a coach, who is usually a science teacher or math teacher. Eligibility rules can be found on the U.S. Department of Energy website, as well as strategies for preparing. As mentioned before the coach may be able to bring up to three teams from the same school but only if the regional event allows for multiple teams. Then the team finds information on their local regional event and registers for the event. The team can practice before the events that are held from January through March. And eventually the regional winner is invited to attend the National event in April/May.
The topics covered and asked during NSB are:
Biology
Physics
Chemistry
Mathematics
Earth and Space Science
Energy (dealing with DOE research)
Past High School National Science Bowl Winners
Year 2005: Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology, Alexandria, Virginia
Year 2006: State College Area High School, State College, PA
Year 2007: Poudre High School, Fort Collins, Colorado
Year 2008: Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica, California
Year 2009: Mira Loma High School, Sacramento, California
Year 2010: North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Durham, NC
Year 2011: Mira Loma High School from Sacramento, CA
Year 2012: Lexington High School of Lexington, MA
Year 2013: Mira Loma High School, Sacramento, CA
Year 2014: Mira Loma High School, Sacramento, CA
Year 2015: Mira Loma High School, Sacramento, CA
Year 2016: Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, MD
Year 2017: Lexington High School, Lexington, MA
Year 2018: Lexington High School, Lexington, MA
Year 2019: Wayzata High School team of Plymouth, MN
Year 2020: Dougherty Valley High School, San Ramon, California
Year 2021: North Hollywood Senior High School in North Hollywood, California
Year 2022: Lynbrook High School in San Jose, California
Past Middle School National Science Bowl Winners
Year 2005: Honey Creek Middle School, Terre Haute, Indiana
Year 2006: Honey Creek Middle School, Terre Haute, Indiana
Year 2007: Honey Creek Middle School, Terre Haute, Indiana
Year 2008: Challenger School, Newark, California
Year 2009: Hopkins Junior High School, Fremont, California
Year 2010: Albuquerque Academy from Albuquerque, NM
Year 2011: Gale Ranch Middle School from San Ramon, CA
Year 2012: Hopkins Junior High School from Fremont, CA
Year 2013: Creekside Middle School from Carmel, IN
Year 2014: Greater Boston Science & Math, Andover, MA
Year 2015: Fort Settlement Middle School, Sugar Land, TX
Year 2016: Joaquin Miller Middle School, San Jose, CA
Year 2017: Joaquin Miller Middle School, San Jose, CA
Year 2018: Odle Middle School, Bellevue, WA
Year 2019: Jonas Clarke Middle School team of Lexington, MA
Year 2020: Preston Middle School, Fort Collins, Colorado
Year 2021: Jonas Clarke Middle School in Lexington, Massachusetts
Year 2022: Odle Middle School in Bellevue, Washington
What about the prizes?
High School students have been able to win amazing prices such as:
Trip to the International School of Physics in Sydney, Australia
Trip to the London International Youth Science Forum in London, England
Trip to the Schweizer Jugend Forscht (International Wild Animal Research Week) in Geneva, Switzerland
Trip to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Advanced Light Source Research Week in California
Trip to the 48th Meeting of Nobel Prize Winners in chemistry in Lindau, Germany.
Trip to London, England, for London International Youth Science Forum
Trip to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for "Trekking Across Washington."
Important Facts
Science competitions are one of the best ways to develop leadership, teamwork and grit skills.
Science competitions are a good way to show colleges how passionate you are about science and the amazing things you are capable of doing.
The NSB is one of the most prestigious science competitions in the U.S.
The NSB was created by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Teams are composed of 4-5 students and a coach that is usually a teacher.
The final competition is held in Washington D.C.
Topics covered are Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Space Science, Energy (dealing with DOE research), Mathematics, and Physics.
Students have been able to win prizes that have brought them to places such as Germany, Australia, England and even Switzerland.
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