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Middle School Science Bowl
February 20-21, 2009
 Mark your calendars
Be a part of the Ames Laboratory/Iowa State University Middle School Science Bowl! Form a team and show you’ve got what it takes to compete against the best teams in the Midwest. Comprised of both academic and fuel-cell car building competitions, this event is guaranteed to excite and challenge the Midwest’s brightest middle school students.
The basics
- For students in grades 6, 7, and 8
- Two-day competition
- Fuel-cell car competition on Friday
- Academic competition on Saturday
- Held on the beautiful Iowa State University campus in Ames, Iowa
- Teams from Iowa are invited and welcome to participate — public, private and parochial schools as well as home-schooled students
- Meals and overnight lodging provided
- No registration fee
- Only 16 teams can participate (so register now!)
- Winning academic team advances to the Department of Energy’s National competition.
The academic competition
The Ames Lab/ISU Middle School Science Bowl is one of 30 regional competitions held across the nation. The academic competition is a fast-paced question-and-answer contest where students answer questions about earth, physical, life and general sciences, and math. Both pool-play and double-elimination formats are used.
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 then has an opportunity to answer a bonus question. At the end of the match, the team with the most points wins.
The car competition
Teams will construct a fuel-cell car. The provided kit contains an electric motor, fuel cell, a basic body frame and some supplies. Using these materials, teams will build a hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicle and then race it.
Form your team
Teams consist of four students, one alternate and one coach. The coach may be a teacher, parent, administrator, or TAG coordinator. Any students in grades 6-8 may form a team. Four of the team’s five players compete at any one time. Substitutions may occur during the 2-minute halftime or between matches.
For coaches
Please go to the Coach Information link on this web site for more information. Additional resources are listed at www.scied.science.doe.gov/nmsb/coaches.htm
On to nationals
The U.S. Department of Energy will pay all expenses for the coach and members of the winning academic team to compete in Denver, Colo., in June at the national competition. No school may compete in more than one regional competition. If the entire winning team cannot participate in all national activities, the second-place team will attend instead.
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Ames Laboratory is operated for the U.S. Department of Energy by Iowa State University |
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