PADUCAH, Ky.—Five students from Paducah’s Lone Oak Middle School (LOMS) recently competed at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Science Bowl^® in Washington, D.C.

The NSB competition is one of the country’s largest and most prestigious science competitions, having hosted as many as 275,000 students in its 27-year history. From January to March, more than 14,000 middle- and high school students competed in regional science competitions in order to qualify for the national competition. One hundred ten regional competitions were hosted nationwide.

While Odle Middle School from Bellevue, Washington prevailed in this year’s finals, Lone Oak team members said the challenge of competing at such a high level was a great experience. In addition to the national tournament, the Science Bowl offers students the opportunity to meet a diverse group of peers and explore the nation’s capital.

During a tour of the National Mall, the Lone Oak team met U.S. Representative James Comer, who represents western Kentucky.

“We’d like to thank the DOE for making this amazing experience possible for our team. We really enjoyed the NSB, especially the free ice cream,” said Lone Oak team captain Isaac Reynolds.

This is the second year LOMS has competed in the late April national event after they won the West Kentucky Regional competition in February, and the tenth consecutive year that DOE’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) has helped send students to compete in Washington, D.C.

“The DOE Science Bowl experience prepares middle school students for opportunities in science, technology and engineering in high school,” said Jennifer Woodard, Paducah Site Lead for PPPO. “I am proud of DOE’s and the local schools’ investment of time and resources into such extraordinary students.”

DOE’s Office of Science manages the NSB Finals competition. More information is available at www.science.energy.gov/wdts/nsb/.