PADUCAH, Ky. — On February 21, a team from Lone Oak Middle School of Paducah, Kentucky won the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) West Kentucky Regional Science Bowl. The five-member Lone Oak Team One will travel to Washington, D.C., to compete in the DOE National Science Bowl® Finals to be held April 30 to May 4.
The all-day Science Bowl tournament, a quick-recall, fast-paced question-and-answer contest, quizzes middle school students on their knowledge of life science, physical science, Earth and space science, energy, and mathematics.
“These students have poured so much energy into preparing for this competition. I am thrilled with their success and look forward to seeing them compete at the national competition in April,” said Lone Oak Middle School Team One Coach Daniel Rushing. “Thank you to the Department of Energy for this opportunity for our students to compete.”
In Washington, the Lone Oak Middle School team will join Bowling Green’s Gatton Academy team that won the Western Kentucky high school competition on February 7.
Calloway County Middle School finished second and Lone Oak Middle School Team Two finished third in the regional competition that was held at the University of Kentucky College of Engineering-Paducah Campus. Other middle schools competing were Ballard County Middle School, Graves County Middle School, Heath Middle School, Henderson County North Middle School, Paducah Middle School, Reidland Middle School and Trigg County Middle School in Kentucky, and Cairo Junior/Senior High School, Jonesboro Elementary School, Massac Junior High School and Murphysboro Middle School in Illinois.
“In the twelve years we have put on this event, 60 students and their coaches have gone to the National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C. We are proud of our schools and the talented students that compete in this event,” said Paducah Site Lead Jennifer Woodard of DOE’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO).
A series of 50 middle school and 65 high school regional tournaments are held across the country from January through March. Winners of these regional competitions advance to the DOE National Science Bowl® Finals, where hundreds of the nation’s middle and high school students will compete. In addition to the academic competition, students attend presentations by well-known scientists on current topics in math and science.
Sponsors of the 12th Annual DOE Regional Science Bowl include DOE, the University of Kentucky College of Engineering—Paducah Campus, the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce, Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, Petter Business Systems, Mid-America Conversion Services, Paducah Economic Development, Beltline, Geosyntec Consultants, HealthWorks Medical, Paducah Water, North Wind, Pro2Serve, Veolia, Swift & Staley, InSolves, Pepsi MidAmerica, HDR, GEO Consultants, Chase Environmental Services, Domtar, Crystal Springs, and Value Added Solutions.
The event is sponsored and organized by PPPO employees and contractors. More than 100 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.
