Central Valley high schoolers to test knowledge with Science Bowl

MODESTO -- The Central Valley Regional Science Bowl will test the mental mettle of 24 teams Saturday at Enochs High.

The five-student teams, representing 14 high schools, will face off beginning at 9 a.m. in a fast-paced, timed, oral question-and-answer game-show format complete with buzzers, timers and scorekeepers.

All teams participate in a five-round round-robin competition in the morning. The top eight performing teams advance to the double-elimination rounds after lunch.

The winning team will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in the National Science Bowl finals in Washington, D.C., on April 25-29. The U.S. Department of Energy and several major corporations sponsor the Science Bowl.

The Central Valley Regional competition is one of about 70 regional events held nationwide, challenging students' knowledge on an array of science-related topics including physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics and technology.

Begun in 1991, the National Science Bowl was designed to encourage high school students to excel in math and science. This is the 17th year Modesto has hosted one of the regional events.

Besides the U.S. Department of Energy, sponsors of the event include the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts, MOCSE Credit Union and Modesto City Schools.

The event is free. The championship match is expected to begin about 3 p.m. in the multipurpose room near the cafeteria on the Enochs campus.

On the Net: http://science.energy.gov/wdts/nsb.