Brain power
Want to give your school’s top science and
math students a chance to strut their stuff?
Then enter the Regional Science Bowl hosted
by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames
Laboratory and Iowa State University.
Science Bowl is a rapid-fire, daylong
competition in which high school students
answer questions from a wide range of
science and math disciplines. The winning
team receives an all-expenses-paid trip to the
DOE’s National Science Bowl.
Form your team
Teams are comprised of up to five students
(four members and an alternate) and a
teacher who serves as coach. Students must
be enrolled for the current school year in
grades 9, 10, 11 or 12 at the team’s school
and must be less than 20 years of age.
Four of the team’s five players compete at
any one time — regardless of which player has
been designated as the alternate. During the
intermission or between matches, the coach
can substitute a player.
What to study
Science Bowl questions cover a variety of topics:
astronomy, biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics,
and earth and general sciences. Preparation pays off.
Top teams frequently spend months practicing for
the event. Sample questions are available at http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/nsb/samplqs.htm.
How to play the game
The Ames Lab/ISU Science Bowl is one of more
than 60 regional competitions held throughout the nation. The format is similar to the National
Science Bowl. The morning session is a round-robin
tournament, with the top16 teams advancing
to the double-elimination competition in the
afternoon session.
Each 16-minute match has a two-minute
intermission. Questions are read aloud by a
moderator. Any player can buzz in to answer a
“toss-up” question. Points are awarded
for a correct answer, and the team
can then answer a bonus question.
At the end of the match, the team
with the most points wins.
Ames Lab and ISU scientists
and staff serve as
judges, moderators,
timekeepers and
scorekeepers.
How to enter
The first 48 schools to submit completed
applications are eligible for the competition.
Schools whose applications are received after
the roster is filled will be placed on a waiting
list in the event of cancellations. Proceed to the coaches link to submit a team.
The costs
There is no registration fee. All teams will be
provided lunch on competition day. Ten distant
schools will receive two complimentary hotel rooms each for the
night prior to the event. Schools will be notified if
selected.
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