10th Annual Ames Lab/ISU Regional Science Bowl Will Be Biggest Ever

Market Wire, 20050229

Teams representing 48 Iowa high schools will compete in daylong event on ISU campus

AMES, Iowa -- A record number of schools will compete in the 10th annual regional Science Bowl sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University on Jan. 29.

The Ames Lab/ISU Science Bowl begins at 8 a.m. in the ISU Memorial Union. The 48 participating Iowa high schools will each send a team of up to five students to the fast-paced, daylong competition to answer questions from a broad range of science and math topics.

The event is one of more than 60 regional Department of Energy competitions throughout the nation. Regional champions will advance to DOE's National Science Bowl on May 5-8 in Chevy Chase, Md.

In the past, the Ames Lab/ISU competition was limited to 40 schools. But as an increasing number of schools expressed interest in the event, organizers decided to add slots for another eight teams.

"Even though we expanded the competition, we had more schools apply than ever before and so we still had to place several on the waiting list," said Steve Karsjen, coordinator of the Ames Lab/ISU Science Bowl. "Science Bowl has proved to be a top-notch academic competition over the years, and the schools in Iowa are eager to participate."

The competing students answer questions from categories such as astronomy, biology,physics, chemistry, computer science, earth science, general science and current eventsin the scientific and technical community. The 16 teams that fare the best in the morning rounds advance to the double-elimination competition in the afternoon.

Approximately 90 faculty and staff members from Ames Laboratory and ISU will serve as moderators, judges, timekeepers and scorekeepers during the event.

"Many of our volunteers work at Science Bowl year after year because they enjoy interacting with these high school students and seeing how well they understand science," Karsjen said. "We enjoy the opportunity to reward the students for their academic skills."

Since the inception of the DOE Science Bowl in 1991, more than 60,000 students have participated in the regional and national competitions.

High schools participating in the 2000 Ames Lab/ISU Science Bowl are (in alphabetical order): Ames 2. Ankeny 3. Bellevue 4. Bishop Heelan, Sioux City 5. Boone 6. Burlington 7. Cascade 8. Cedar Falls 9. Chariton10. Clarion-Goldfield, Clarion 11. Clear Lake 12. Clinton 13. Corwith-Wesley-LuVerne, Corwith14. Dallas Center-Grimes, Dallas Center 15. Davenport Assumption 16. Davenport West 17. Des Moines Central Academy 18. Dowling, West Des Moines 19. East Union Community, Afton 20. Fort Dodge 21. Hempstead, Dubuque 22. Hull Western Christian, Hull 23. Humboldt 24. Iowa City West25. Kennedy, Cedar Rapids 26. Manson-Northwest Webster, Manson 27. Mason City 28. Mount Pleasant29. Newton 30. North Scott, Eldridge 31. Northwood-Kensett, Northwood 32. Ogden 33. Ottumwa 34. Pella 35. Regina, Iowa City 36. St. Ansgar 37. Saydel, Des Moines 38. Sioux City East 39. South O'Brien, Paullina40. Southeast Polk, Runnells 41. Tipton 42. Unity Christian, Orange City 43. Wahlert, Dubuque44. Washington, Cedar Rapids 45. Washington, Vinton 46. Washington 47. Waverly-Shell Rock, Waverly48. Western Dubuque, Epworth

Schedule of events for the Ames Lab/ISU Science Bowl (all events take place in the Memorial Union):

8a.m. -- Registration (Great Hall) 8:15 a.m. -- Welcoming remarks from Ames Laboratory Director Tom Barton (Great Hall) a.m.-noon -- Round-robin competition (various rooms) Noon-1 p.m. -- Lunch break 1-4:30 p.m. -- Double-elimination competition for the top 16 teams (various rooms) 4:30-5:30 p.m. -- Championship match and awards ceremony (Sun Room)