Boston Regional Science Bowl Feb 18 2006

Submitted by Shawn

2006-01-11 16:24:23

The Science Bowl is a national science competition for high school student teams.
Arranged as round-robin regional events around the country, students compete for a place at the national event in Washington D.C. (April 27-May 1, 2006). The organizer of the 2006 (Feb 18) Massachusetts Regional competition is Boston University.
Ashmita Randhawa of BU described the history and current activities of the Science Bowl: "It was orginally established 15 years ago by the US Department of Energy to raise interest in science so that enough of today's students may end up being tomorrow's scientists that will solve our energy needs. There are usually around 60 to 70 regional events across the nation, and Boston University is proud to host one of these events. In our regional competition in 2006, about 33 teams will attend The Boston University Photonics Center, and compete verbally (as opposed to in writing) in round-robin format. The questions come from categories including Biology, Chemistry, Math, Physics, Astronomy, General Science, and Earth Science. There are 8 rounds, from which about 8 to 12 teams will advance to the playoffs. The winning team of the playoffs becomes the regional champion. The champion from each regional advances to the Nationals, where they normally compete in a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Challenge (to get them to think about energy). The winner at the Nationals wins money for their school and, of course, acclaim. A new effort of the National Science Bowl organizers is to send two teams off to Energy facilities.
"The amount of people involved in this event is enormous. The number of students and teachers attending will be a minimum of 210 people. We will require around 50 volunteers, plus there will be many attendees."
This local event will be held on Saturday, February 18, 2006, in the Boston University Photonics Center.
Any Massachusetts high school (public, private, or home-school) is eligible to form a
team of interested students. All members of the team must be from the same school or region. If you are not from Massachusetts and would like to form a team, please contact the organizers (see below) so they can direct you to the proper region.
<strong>How can we participate?</strong>
The Boston University Science Bowl will be conducting online registration. Please go
to <a href="http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/nsb/coaches.htm">http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/nsb/coaches.htm</a>, and click on the “Regional Events” link. Go to “New England region,” and the Boston University site will be the first on the list. Click on “Regional Registration Form,” create an account, log in, and register. All you need is your coach’s name and email address in order to reserve a spot.
<strong>How do I get started?</strong>
The rules are posted on the website, above. Organize a team of students, find a
coach (e.g., science teacher) and arrange mock competitions. That way, you will become familiar with the competition rules, gain experience in a quiz-bowl style competition (a lock out buzzer would be handy), and practice on subject questions. Review sessions are always helpful and AP review books are a good source of science questions.
<strong>To reach the organizers:</strong>
email: <a href="mailto:scibowl@bu.edu">scibowl@bu.edu</a>
The Science Bowl
Boston University
590 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
<a href="http://people.bu.edu/scibowl">http://people.bu.edu/scibowl</a>

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