Those are the trophies awarded to the top three middle school and high school teams at the championships of the National Science Bowl, the country's foremost competition for young people in STEM.

Every year, hundreds of teams across the country face off in a March Madness-like bracket of regional competitions, with a few dozen making it all the way to the final round in Washington, DC.

After a weekend of semifinals and some fun in the nation's capital, the championship finals came down to Mira Loma High School from Sacramento, California, and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology from Alexandria, Virginia.

At the halfway mark, Mira Loma led by just two points -- it was still anyone's competition. A coach gave a last-minute pep talk to the Mira Loma team during a brief break in the finals.

There were a lot of close calls. A Mira Loma student challenged the judges when they called his answer incorrect. The crowd murmured. The judges deliberated. And Mira Loma won the point that almost slipped through their fingers. In contrast, Thomas Jefferson correctly answered "E. coli" to one question, but didn't get the point; the judges required the full name, "Escherichia coli."

In the end, Mira Loma won for the third year in a row, celebrating their victory with sighs of relief and hugs all around.

The top three teams received their awards from Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz.

"You never stop having fun if you follow science and technology," he said to the auditorium crowded with both competitors and spectators.

The National Science Bowl is way more than a competition. It's meant to inspire bright students to explore their potential as future leaders in STEM.

But being a future leader in STEM can take many shapes. In fact, the students heard from someone who works in a Hollywood studio: the special effects designer behind films from "Titanic" to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. We interviewed him before he met the contestants. See what he has to say about the intersection of art and science:

Whether these bright young minds decide to work toward solving climate change or sparking our imaginations through movie magic, their success -- and their tremendous potential -- is something we can all cheer for.

See you next year!