Registration Now Open for Energy Department’s National Science Bowl®

Washington, D.C. – Teams of high school and middle school students across the country can now register to compete in the 27th annual National Science Bowl® (NSB), hosted by the Energy Department's Office of Science. Thousands of students compete in the contest annually and it has grown into one of the largest academic math and science competitions in the country.

The top two high school teams nationwide win educational adventure trips and the top middle and high school teams win money for their schools' science departments.

"The National Science Bowl® continues to be one of the premier academic competitions across the country, and prepares America's students for future success in some of the world's fastest growing fields in research and engineering," said Cherry Murray, director of the Office of Science. "I am excited for this year's competition and another opportunity to showcase these students as the future leaders in math and science."

Teams of students can sign up to participate in the NSB by registering with the coordinator for their local completion, which they can find on the NSB registration page, here: http://science.energy.gov/wdts/nsb/regional-competitions/. The competition is divided into two categories; high school and middle school. Regional competitions for each area typically last one or two days and take place throughout the country between January and March.

During the regional and national competitions, students participate in a fast-paced verbal forum to solve technical problems and answer questions in all branches of science and math. Each team is composed of four or five students and a teacher who serves as a coach. Teams can find sample questions on the NSB website to help prepare for the competitions here: http://science.energy.gov/wdts/nsb/regional-competitions/resources/.

The winning team from each qualifying regional competition will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in the National Finals held in Washington, D.C. from April 27 to May 1, 2017. The national events consist of several days of science activities, sightseeing, and competitions.

The Office of Science will announce the prizes for the top two high school teams for the 2017 NSB at a later date. The high school team that won the 2016 NSB received a nine-day, all-expenses-paid science trip to Alaska, where they learned about glaciology, marine and avian biology, geology and plate tectonics. The second-place high school team at the 2016 NSB won a five-day, fully guided adventure tour of several national parks, which included a whitewater rafting trip.

The top 16 high school and middle school teams in the National Finals also will win $1,000 for their schools' science departments.

Approximately 265,000 students have participated in the National Science Bowl® in its 26-year history. More than 14,000 students compete in the NSB each year.

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science manages the National Science Bowl®, and sponsors the NSB finals competition. More information is available on the NSB website: http://science.energy.gov/wdts/nsb/.

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