Volunteers Needed for 2010 National Ocean Sciences Bowl
Julie Bedford
NOAA Communications and External Affairs
October 23, 2009 — It’s that time of year again when regional high schools teams start brushing up on their knowledge of the nation’s oceans and Great Lakes in hopes of winning the annual National Ocean Sciences Bowl.
Like the Rose and Super Bowls, players prepare for months — even years — for the competition, but the National Ocean Sciences Bowl is more a test of brains than brawn.
NOAA Office of Education’s Sarah Schoedinger, head science judge, keeps score during the final 2008 National Ocean Science Bowl competition in Washington, DC. Photo credit: With permission from the Consortium for Ocean Leadership.
Each February, regional competitions are held in 25 locations across the country with the final national-level championship held in April. Nearly 2,000 students from more than 300 high schools participated in 2009. The final round for the 2010 bowl will be held in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Now in its 11th year, this fast-paced, quiz show-style tournament was the brainchild of the Washington D.C.-based Consortium for Ocean Leadership. The competition seeks to recognize and reward excellence among high school students interested in ocean studies — hopefully inspiring the next generation of ocean researchers and scientists.
A Call for NOAA Volunteers: Jump In, the Water’s Warm!
NOAA employees from across the nation have always generously offered their time to ensuring the “brain games” run smoothly.
“The National Ocean Sciences Bowl is very volunteer dependent, especially at the local level,” said NOAA Office of Education’s Bob Hansen. “It takes a lot of people to help coordinate such a large event and an increasing number of NOAA staff have volunteered for this event over the years.”
Laura Florence, National Ocean Sciences Bowl coordinator for Michigan’s regional Great Lakes Bowl, said she typically enlists 60 volunteers each year (20 are federal NOAA employees). Volunteer opportunities are plentiful. Up to 3,500 science trivia questions are drafted for the national competitions alone — that means a lot of proofreading and editing. In addition, onsite event volunteers are needed to serve as moderators, scientific judges and runners.
“This is a great opportunity for NOAA and National Ocean Sciences Bowl partners to increase their organization’s visibility in the community and with educators and students,” Florence said.
Doug Levin, a habitat specialist and education coordinator with the NOAA Chesapeake Bay office, has been a volunteer for six years. He has served on panels for writing, editing and recrafting competition questions. At the national competition this year, he reviewed the accuracy of final questions, mediated and even graded the Team Challenge Questions.
“Being a volunteer is a great way to contribute to my community, plus I enjoy talking with young people and the opportunity to motivate them in the marine science field,” Levin said.
“It's just plain fun,” said Gustavo Goni, a physical oceanographer with NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami. “This type of competition encourages students to get more involved in the study of the environment, and being a volunteer helps me to support their effort. These kids are really bright, and it is fun to see them compete to show their knowledge of ocean sciences.”
For more information about the competition and how you can become a volunteer, please visit the National Ocean Science Bowl Web page.
Doug Levin from NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Office leads a field trip in which several 2008 National Ocean Science Bowl finalists got to build their own remotely operated vehicles and test them at the Gallaudet University swimming pool in Washington, DC. Photo credit: NOAA.
NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science’s Susan Baker (in the white NOAA tank top) volunteered as a head science judge at the final round of the 2008 National Ocean Science Bowl in Washington, DC. Photo credit: With permission from the Consortium for Ocean Leadership.