High school ocean sciences experts to gather in Seward
January 31, 2011
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1/31/11
The 14th annual Alaska Region National Ocean Sciences Bowl, also called the Tsunami Bowl, will be held in Seward this weekend, Feb. 4-6. The competition is hosted by the UAF Seward Marine Center.
Twenty teams from 15 high schools across Alaska, from Unalaska to Ketchikan, will compete in the Jeopardy-style quiz bowl. This year, teams from Dillingham, Sitka, Kotlik and Scammon Bay will compete for the first time.
The competition consists of two equally weighted parts: a tournament-style academic competition designed to challenge students' knowledge of ocean sciences; and a research project that has both written and public speaking components. This year, the research project focused on human responses to oceanic events.
“The competition and related activities during the three-day event encourage students to continue to study fisheries and marine science during their postsecondary education, and to consider a career in a marine-related occupation,” said Phyllis Shoemaker, longtime Tsunami Bowl organizer.
The National Ocean Sciences Bowl was established in 1998 to encourage learning about the oceans and increase the teaching of ocean sciences in high schools. The Consortium for Ocean Leadership supports the NOSB. Several sponsors support the regional competition, including the UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences and Alaska Sea Grant.
The winner of the Alaska Region NOSB competition will compete in the NOSB finals, scheduled to take place in Galveston, Texas, in April 2011.
ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Phyllis Shoemaker, Tsunami Bowl organizer and Seward Marine Center research staff member, 907-224-4312 or via e-mail at pashoemaker@alaska.edu.
ON THE WEB: www.sfos.uaf.edu
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