PADUCAH, Ky. — When organizers set out to plan this year’s U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) West Kentucky Regional Science Bowl, it was clear that the event would have to be conducted in a virtual space in order to protect the health and safety of the students, coaches and volunteers.
After months of planning and implementing rigorous training programs for volunteers and coaches, seven teams competed in what has become the region’s most notable science competition for high school students.
Today, Paducah Tilghman High School (PTHS) won DOE’s virtual West Kentucky Regional Science Bowl. The five-member PTHS team will compete in DOE’s National Science Bowl® (NSB) Finals, which will be conducted virtually from April 29 to May 3, 2021.
The Regional Science Bowl tournament is a quick-recall, fast-paced, question-and-answer contest. During the tournament, high school students are quizzed on their knowledge of biology, chemistry, Earth and space, energy, mathematics and physics.
Calloway County High School finished second and McCracken County High School finished third in the regional competition.
“I’m so proud of the Tilghman team, both as competitors and as people,” PTHS Coach Christine Wynne said. “We are so appreciative to DOE for coordinating the event as a virtual event this year, which allowed us to compete. We would not have been able to do so otherwise.”
Other high schools competing in this year’s virtual event were Ballard Memorial High School, Marshall County High School, Union County High School and Madisonville North Hopkins High School.
“This virtual competition prepares our students to become the future scientists and leaders of tomorrow,” said Paducah Site Lead Jennifer Woodard of DOE’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO). “Students competing at the national event will be challenged by some of the brightest students in the country. We are excited that they have this opportunity.”
The top 16 high school and middle school teams in the NSB finals will receive $1,000 for their schools’ science departments. Each year, more than 14,000 students from across the country compete in the national competition. Since the event began 30 years ago, more than 315,000 students have competed.
Sponsors of the 13th Annual DOE Regional Science Bowl include: DOE, the University of Kentucky College of Engineering—Paducah Campus, the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce, Beltline Electric, Chase Environmental, Enterprise Technical Assistance Services, Inc., Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, LLC, Geo Consultants, Geo-Syntech, Greater Paducah Economic Development, HDR Engineering, HealthWorks, Mid-America Conversion Services, NorthWind, Paducah Water, Petter Business and Supply, Swift and Staley, Inc. and Veolia.
The event is sponsored and organized by employees and contractors of DOE PPPO. More than 50 volunteers serve as moderators, judges, technical advisors, and scorekeepers. DOE’s Office of Science manages the National Science Bowl® Finals competition. More information is available at https://science.osti.gov/wdts/nsb.
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