Ocean Sciences Bowl

Coordinated by the Center for Ocean Leadership, the National Ocean Sciences Bowl is designed to address a national gap in environmental and earth sciences in public education by introducing high school students to and engaging them in ocean science, preparing them for ocean science-related and other STEM careers, and helping them become knowledgeable citizens and environmental stewards.

University High School of Irvine, California, emerged victorious on Jan. 20 at the Los Angeles regional Ocean Sciences Bowl tournament, which NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has hosted annually since 2000.

Eight schools from Los Angeles and Orange counties competed this year. Santa Monica High School came in second; Torrance High School placed third.

Teams of four to five students have just 5 seconds to answer multiple-choice questions that are worth 4 points each. If the team answers a question correctly, they receive a bonus question worth 6 points and have 20 seconds to consult with each other before their captain must provide an answer. They also face a handful of “team challenge” questions in which they can work together for a longer period to come up with an answer.

The JPL event – called the Los Angeles Surf Bowl – was the first of nearly 20 regional Ocean Sciences Bowl competitions across the country. The tournaments are coordinated by the Center for Ocean Leadership, which is a program of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, an organization focused in part on Earth science-related education. The event at JPL is staffed by volunteers from the lab and University of Southern California, several of whom are competition alumni.

Science Spotlight

Thaddaeus Voss – National Ocean Sciences Bowl, 2008, 2009, 2010 Centerville High School

Current Position:
Signal Analysis Engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory