Besting eight other teams at the Saturday competition, Daniel Wright now goes on to compete against winners from across the country in April at the National Finals of the DOE National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C.

The National Science Bowl is a fast-paced question-and-answer competition that tests students’ knowledge in all areas of science and math. For the months leading up to the event, students work in teams conducting practice drills outside of school, going to area museums and reading online articles.

The day began with teams pulling a number from a hat to determine in which bracket they would be competing and followed with a welcome from Congressman Bill Foster, a former physicist, and guest judge for this year’s event.

“The skills you are learning here will do much more than help you get to the National Science Bowl,” said Foster. ​“They are shaping your mind in ways that will serve you for years to come, providing you with the ability to look at and evaluate the world and tackle our most pressing problems.”

The curious minds of these middle school competitors may have well been challenged because many of the questions they were asked came from high school and college text books. According to Maple School coach and science teacher Robin Dombeck, in these cases, familiarity becomes invaluable.

“Our classes don’t cover the level of detail some of these questions require, so a good amount of practice time is spent familiarizing the students with context and vocabulary,” said Dombeck. ​“If you don’t really know the answer but have a context in which that question sits, you can make a good guess.”

Now in its 26^th year, the DOE National Science Bowl is one of the nation’s largest science competitions with more than 250,000 students having competed since 1991. It is also an opportunity for students to come face-to-face with researchers who work in physical science, computing and engineering fields the students find interesting.

“We can’t overestimate the power of connecting students to scientists and engineers,” said Argonne Director Peter Littlewood. ​“At Argonne, we understand that this is the simplest bridge one can build to motivate today’s students towards becoming the next generation of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professionals.”

As the afternoon drew to a close and the competition ended, trophies were awarded to Daniel Wright Middle School, Maple School and Jerling Junior High School for first, second and third place, respectively. For some teams, this competition’s end only marks the beginning of another as students face-off for the Electric Car Competition in March.

Questions and answers aside, the Electric Car Competition requires students put on their engineering hats. Each team receives a car kit from Argonne, including a motor, battery and lights. The students’ challenge is to design and fabricate the model race car using teamwork, experimentation and problem-solving skills. Sophia Capelli, science teacher at Daniel Wright Middle School, says moving from the Science Bowl to the Electric Car Competition isn’t as easy as it looks.

“Kids who are good at building aren’t necessarily good on the buzzer, and then when you put the kids who are good at the buzzer on the car, it is almost like a deer in headlights,” said Capelli. ​“Ultimately the kids build confidence by doing. We tell them, ​‘just try it, you’ll like it and you can do it.’ It is amazing what they are able to learn.”

More information about the DOE National Science Bowl can be found online.

This year’s participants of the Argonne Regional Middle School Science Bowl included:

• Daniel Wright Middle School (1^st Place)
• Maple School (2^nd Place)
• Jerling Junior High School (3^rd Place)
• Bednarcik Junior High School
• O’Neill Middle School
• Troy Middle School
• Roosevelt Middle School
• Frank C. Whiteley Elementary School
• Elwood Community Consolidated School
   

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation’s first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America’s scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit the Office of Science website.