Buzzers, not bells, will ring in the new year for thousands of middle and high school students all across the United States.
That’s because they’ll soon be pitting their math and science knowledge — and their reflexes — against one another in regional competitions of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) 26th National Science Bowl (NSB). A team of students from Lenox High School is participating in an upcoming competition to determine the team to represent Iowa.
The competitions start this month, with four students from each team facing off in a fast-paced, question-and-answer format. The winning team from each of the 48 middle school and 68 high school regions will compete in the national finals held in Washington, D.C., from April 28 to May 2.
At the finals, winning teams can score exciting adventure trips to Alaska and national parks across the country to learn first hand about science in the field, as well as trophies, medals and supplies for their schools’ science departments. But to many, the ultimate prize simply would be the prestige of winning the national championship.
Today, the NSB draws more than 14,000 middle and high school competitors. More than 250,000 students have faced off in the NSB finals since the first competition in 1991. The knowledge that former NSB competitors have acquired – and more importantly, the habits of study that they’ve learned along the way – have led them to success in a variety of fields. Many have become researchers, and others are science and math professors at some of the nation’s most prestigious universities.
While those career paths might seem intuitive, the math and science knowledge students need to be successful in the NSB also can lead to successful careers in other fields.
The 2016 NSB competitors will follow in the footsteps of previous NSB contestants and will blaze a trail for students in science, math and engineering for the next quarter-century.
The NSB is a nationwide academic competition that tests students’ knowledge in all areas of science and mathematics. These teams are tested on a range of science disciplines including biology, chemistry, Earth science, physics, energy and math. The DOE Office of Science manages NSB and sponsors the NSB finals competition.