IDAHO FALLS – Southeastern Idaho high school and middle school students are testing their math and science knowledge this week at the Department of Energy Office of Science Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists Idaho Science Bowl. The event is sponsored by Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the Department of Energy Office of Science Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists Program (DOE-SC-WDTS). This is the 29th year INL has sponsored a math and science quiz-bowl tournament in which teams of students buzz in to answer questions, and the fifth year that middle school students will be included.
Teams will compete in the Jeopardy-style tournament held Thursday, March 14, for high school students and Friday, March 15, for middle school students. The high school tournament will take place in Idaho Falls at University Place at the Center for Higher Education Building, 1784 Science Center Drive, and LeRitz Hotel, 720 Lindsay Blvd. Middle school tournaments will be held at University Place at the Center for Higher Education Building.
In the high school competition, 22 teams in three divisions based on school enrollment will compete in a round-robin tournament. The schedule for Thursday is as follows: At University Place, some Class C (small schools) and Class A (large schools) teams will begin competing at 8:30 a.m., while further Class A schools will begin at 12:50 p.m. The Class B (medium schools) will begin competing at 1:30 p.m. Further Class C teams will begin competition at 8:30 a.m. at LeRitz Hotel. The top two teams from each division will advance to the six-team Champion of Champions competition at 5 p.m., concluding with the awards ceremony immediately following the final round at University Place.
On Friday, 17 middle school teams will compete in three round-robin tournaments beginning at 9:30 a.m., with the top team in each pool advancing to the Champion of Champions beginning at 1 p.m. and concluding at approximately 2:30 p.m. at University Place.
The winning teams will earn the right to represent the region at the U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl. Teams from across the nation will be competing in the NSB finals April 25-29 in Washington, D.C.
DOE-SC-WDTS launched the competition in 1991 to encourage students to excel in science and math and to pursue careers in those fields.
Teams competing this year in the high school division are:
- Class A: Hillcrest High School, Bonneville High School, Twin Falls High School, Jerome High School, Highland High School, Century High School, Canyon Ridge High School, Skyline High School, Thunder Ridge High School, Idaho Falls High School, Rigby High School
- Class B: Preston High School, Kimberly High School, Marsh Valley High School, South Fremont High School
- Class C: Wendell High School, Oakley High School, Mackay High School, Ririe High School, Malad High School, Soda Springs High School, Challis High School, Butte County High School, West Side High School, West Jefferson High School
Teams competing in the middle school division are:
- Alameda Middle School (two teams), Irving Middle School, Jerome Middle School, Mackay Junior High School, Malad Middle School, Preston Middle School (two teams), Rigby Middle School, Teton Middle School, Vera O’Leary Junior High School (two teams).
