SCIENCE BOWL EXCITEMENT: It was a dramatic face-off between teams from Princeton Charter School and West Windsor-Plainsboro’s Community Middle School in the finals of Princeton International School of Mathematics and Science (PRISMS) first ever Science+ Bowl Tournament. The New Jersey Regional Science Bowl will take place this weekend, February 21-22, at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory with the winning middle and high school teams going on to the national championships in Washington, D.C., in April. (Photo courtesy of PRISMS)

By Donald Gilpin

It’s Science Bowl season, and a cluster of local teams are preparing to compete in the New Jersey Regional Science Bowls on February 21 for the middle school competition and February 22 for the high school contest sponsored by the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Among the 16 middle school teams facing off in the question-and-answer rounds in the fields of chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy, mathematics, and general and earth sciences are four area schools: defending champion Princeton Charter School (PCS), the French American School of Princeton, Lawrence Middle School, and the Noor-Ul-Iman School of South Brunswick. PCS has won the regional middle school contest and gone on to the National Science Bowl six times in the past seven years.

In the high school competition, teams from Princeton High School, Princeton International School of Math and Science (PRISMS), the Wilberforce School, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, Montgomery High School, and Notre Dame High School will be vying with 26 other regional school teams for an all-expenses-paid trip to compete against other regional champions in the national competition in Washington, D.C., April 24-28.

“Teams signed up to compete in record time this year, and we are thrilled that new schools have signed up,” said Deedee Ortiz, program manager of the science education department at PPPL. “It’s always a treat to watch how excited the students are when they arrive and see where they go throughout the day.”

She continued, “Whether a team advances to the end of the competition or not, the camaraderie between the teams is always a joy to experience. That being said, we wouldn’t be able to do any of this without our volunteers — researchers, engineers, technicians, and administrative staff from PPPL — and they are the MVPs, if you ask me. We are so grateful to all of them.”

PRISMS Science+ Bowl

On February 8, PRISMS, on Lambert Drive in Princeton, hosted nine local middle school teams in its inaugural Science+ Bowl Tournament, giving PCS and others a chance to tune up for the PPPL competition.

West Windsor-Plainsboro Community Middle School’s (WW-P CMS) Cosmic Curators team including Easton Wei, Donna Benalan, Saanvi Mathur, and Neha MIkkilineni came out on top, and two teams from PCS won second and third place.

The event was organized by PRISMS students with seniors Justin Feder and Joshi Shi taking the lead in writing original questions and serving as moderators, timekeepers, scorekeepers, and volunteers for a variety of jobs. PRISMS added engineering and computer science questions to the usual Science Bowl repertoire, and some questions were also drawn from ongoing research projects conducted by PRISMS juniors and seniors.

In addition to the competition, participants enjoyed interactive STEM activities and a math-inspired dance performance by PRISMS students and teachers.

“The tournament was exceptionally well organized and a truly enjoyable experience,” said PCS science teacher and team coach Laura Celik, as quoted in a PRISMS press release. “The questions, thoughtfully written by PRISMS students, were clever and accurate and provided the perfect challenge for middle schoolers. The students appreciated the chance to engage with teams from other schools in front of a supportive audience and were particularly impressed by the captivating chemistry and engineering demonstrations.”

The middle school competitors agreed. “This event was fun and enriching,” said WW-P CMS team captain Wei. “The volunteers managed everything seamlessly from start to finish, and the questions were exceptional. It was a delight to compete alongside peers who share a passion for science while learning and growing throughout the experience.”

Nikolai Morozov, PCS team captain and an eighth grader, added, “The atmosphere was amazing. The staff was incredibly responsive and kind, and they created an amazing, fun experience for all the teams.”