Video: Oxford Middle Wins Regional Science Bowl

[bitsontherun eFq5r33X]

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)-Students from 17 different Middle Schools crowded the Mississippi University for Women’s campus to test how much they knew about math and science.

Ready, Set, Bowl. The Science Bowl that is. Hundreds of the brightest minds from Middle Schools throughout Mississippi put their knowledge to the test competing for the title in the Mississippi Regional Science Bowl competition.

“It’s a head to head competition. It’s kind of like a Jeopardy where they throw out a question and one of the kids buzz in and questions are in chemistry, physics, earth science, biology, math, technology and energy,” says Ken Wester.

Eight Divisions with four teams on each, compete against one another until two teams are left. The final team standing will receive a fully paid trip to Washington, D.C. To represent their school at the National Science Bowl.

The science Bowl not only tests the knowledge of middle schools in the subjects of math and science, but also allows them to learn in a fun way.

“It makes it fun because we have a chance of winning and competing against other people who are good at science and math,” says Chase Threadgill.

Director of Academic Affairs, Germain Mcconnell believes competitions like the Science Bowl allows students to put their schooling into motion.

“For them to be able to put into action so to speak the things that they’ve learned is a good thing and not to mention they have to study quite a bit in preparation for this competition,” says Germain McConnell.

The Science Bowl competition is a way to honor students in academics.

“A lot of times schools are really reward their athletes and everything, but very seldom is there anything for academics and so this is a way to reward those students that excel in the academics particularly the math and sciences,” says Wester.

This is the seventh year Mississippi University for Women has hosted this event.

PRESS RELEASE

COLUMBUS, Miss. — Building on President Obama’s efforts to help more students excel in math and science and his call for investments in a skilled American workforce, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that Oxford Middle School from Oxford, MS, won the Mississippi Regional Middle School Science Bowl on Friday, which was sponsored by the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science. Oxford Middle School competed against 30 other teams from across the state in one of the nation’s regional competitions of the 23rd Annual U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl, and is now eligible to compete in the National Finals in Washington, D.C., at the end of April. The National Science Bowl brings together thousands of middle and high school students from across the country to compete on a range of science disciplines including biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, astronomy, and math.

“Congratulations to the students at Oxford Middle School for their achievements in science, technology, engineering and math,” said Energy Secretary Chu. “Providing opportunities like the National Science Bowl to challenge today’s students is an essential part of keeping America competitive in a rapidly advancing world.”

The Department of Energy (DOE) created the National Science Bowl in 1991 to encourage students to excel in mathematics and science and to pursue careers in these fields. More than 200,000 students have participated in the National Science Bowl throughout its 22 year history, and it is the nation’s largest science competition.

Since January, more than 9,000 high school students and 5,000 middle school students have been competing in what will eventually total 70 high school and 48 middle school regional Science Bowl tournaments. Students, in teams of four or five, compete in a fast-paced Jeopardy-style format where they solve technical problems and answer questions in all branches of science and math. Most teams are coached by teachers from the students’ schools and spend several months preparing for the regional competitions. Many states have one regional or statewide Science Bowl competition, while larger states, such as California and Texas, hold several regional competitions across their states.

Students from Oxford Middle School will be awarded an all-expense paid trip to the National Finals in Washington, D.C., which are scheduled for April 25-29, 2013. The regional tournaments, which host 15-50 teams, are sponsored by federal agencies, national laboratories, institutions of education, and non-profit organizations.

DOE’s Office of Science manages the competition. More information about these events is available on the National Science Bowl website: http://www.science.energy.gov/nsb/.

Categories: Local News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *