Berkeley Lab will be hosting and co-sponsoring with U.S. Department of Energy/Berkeley Site Office and Sandia National Laboratories/California a Regional Science Bowl for 17 local high school teams on Saturday, Feb. 28. Five high school students from each team will compete for a trip to the Department’s National Science Bowl Tournament in Washington, D.C., April 29 - May 3.

Moderators, timers and scorekeepers are needed to help with the round-robin tournament of math and science knowledge. Volunteer training will be conducted on Feb. 24 and 25 during the lunch hour in Bldg. 7-211. Call Joe Crippen (5816) or Doug Owen (7682) to reserve a place in the sessions.

“The U.S. Department of Energy developed the Science Bowl to encourage high school students from across the nation to excel in math and science and to pursue careers in those fields,” said National Nuclear Security Administration Livermore Site Office Manager, Camille Yuan-Soo Hoo. “These competitions provide a forum for students and teachers to receive national recognition for their talent and hard work in science and math.”

The Regional Science Bowl competition will test students’ knowledge of astronomy, biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, earth, computer, and general science. The first place winner of the Feb. 28 tournament will join approximately 65 other high school teams from across the country to compete for the title of 2004 DOE National Science Bowl Champions.

Among the high schools expected to compete are Half Moon Bay, Mills in Millbrae, St. Francis in Mountain View, Pescadero, Lowell in San Francisco, Hillsdale in San Mateo, Irvington and Kennedy in Fremont, Acalanes and Bentley in Lafayette, San Leandro, Albany in Berkeley, Terra Linda in San Rafael, St. Vincent in Petaluma, Homestead in Cupertino, Abraham Lincoln and The Harker School in San Jose.

Continental breakfast, lunch, and souvenir T-shirts will be given to all volunteers at the Science Bowl. Registration and Breakfast will be at 8 a.m. in the Cafeteria. The buildings being used for the day are 54, 70, 70A, and 50.

The teams compete in a “Jeopordy”-style question-and-answer format. The top teams emerging from a round-robin tournament in the morning will then compete in the afternoon’s double-elimination tournament to determine the winner.

Berkeley Lab has hosted this competition in the past, and Rollie Otto, the Lab’s Head for the Center for Science and Engineering Education (CSEE), said he is thrilled to have the Science Bowl back on the Hill. “We will need 27 volunteers for moderators, times and scorekeepers,” he said. “The competition is keen, and the students will have trained and will be primed, just as in an athletic competition. It is very inspiring to see these top science and math students in action.”

For information and reservations at the training sessions, call Joe Crippen at 5816 or Doug Owen 7682.