The top four teams who competed in the 2019 Virginia Regional Middle School Science Bowl: Rachel Carson Middle School, Longfellow Middle School, Edlin School and Poplar Tree Elementary School. The competition was held at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility on March 2.
Rachel Carson Middle School of Herndon placed first among 19 teams who competed at the 2019 Virginia Regional Science Bowl Competition at Jefferson Lab on Saturday, March 2.
NEWPORT NEWS, VA -- The team from Rachel Carson Middle School rose to the top of a crowded field to take home the first-place trophy at the 2019 Virginia Regional Middle School Science Bowl. Longfellow Middle School, Edlin School and Poplar Tree Elementary School placed second, third and fourth, respectively. The competition was held at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility on March 2.
“All of the students represented their schools well this year, and we had a strong but friendly competition for the top spots,” said Steve Gagnon, a Jefferson Lab Science Education staff member and the lead organizer of the event. “Rachel Carson Middle School won every match to take home the first-place trophy. It’s the second year in a row that the school will represent Virginia in the finals.”
The National Science Bowl® finals will be held in Washington, D.C., April 25–29. The team representing Rachel Carson Middle School from Herndon will compete in the academic competition and will also attend presentations by well-known scientists on current topics in math and the sciences. In addition to an all-expenses-paid trip to the competition, the winning school also received a trophy and $750 for its programs.
The second place team, Longfellow Middle School from Falls Church, and third place team, Edlin School from Reston, each received a trophy, as well as $500 and $300, respectively, for their school programs. Poplar Tree Elementary School from Chantilly received a trophy for placing fourth.
Teams from 19 Virginia middle schools competed in the 2019 competition, including seven teams from Hampton Roads and the Middle Peninsula (Grafton Middle School, Hampton Roads Academy, Isle of Wight Academy, Page Middle School, Peasley Middle School, St. John the Apostle Catholic School and St. Patrick Catholic School).
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science manages the National Science Bowl® and sponsors the NSB finals competition. The competition, which is meant to encourage students to excel in math and science and to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math, has taken place annually since 1991.
Since its inception, more than 290,000 middle and high school students have participated in tournaments around the country. In 2019, 65 high school and 50 middle school teams will receive trips to compete for the national title.
The Department of Energy's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
More information about the 2019 Virginia Regional Middle School Science Bowl can be found in the event media advisory. See photos and videos from the event in Jefferson Lab's flickr photo album.
To learn more about DOE's National Science Bowl competition, visit: https://science.energy.gov/wdts/nsb/
For sample sets of questions and answers that have been used in previous competitions, visit: https://science.energy.gov/wdts/nsb/regional-competitions/resources/
Contact: Lauren Hansen, Jefferson Lab Communications Office, 757-269-7689, lhansen@jlab.org