FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
U.S. Students Test "Ocean I.Q." In Year Of The Ocean
National Ocean Sciences Bowl Finalists Announced
Teams of science students from around the nation will compete for an all-expense-paid learning trip to Portugal after advancing to the finals of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl.
This is the first year of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, being held appropriately in the International Year Of The Ocean. The goal of the competition is to recognize and reward excellence among students interested in ocean studies and to help them become the next generation of oceanographers and marine scientists. The bowl also aims to broaden awareness of the critical value of ocean research among high school students, educators, parents, and the public.
El Nino has highlighted the importance of understanding how the ocean impacts our lives. Beyond generating storms and affecting climate change, the ocean provides food, energy, advanced materials for medicine and technology, international trade, and recreation. More than one-half of the U.S. population lives and works within 50 miles of the coastline, and one in six U.S. jobs is marine-related.
In the competition, students answered rapid-fire questions on biology, chemistry, geology, physics, history and economics of the ocean, and ocean-related current events. Top researchers and educators in marine sciences have developed the questions for the National Ocean Sciences Bowl.
The Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE), in partnership with the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA), is conducting the National Ocean Sciences Bowl. Sixteen regional meets, involving about 200 teams, have been conducted by CORE institutions around the nation.
The National Ocean Sciences Bowl 1998 finals will be held in Washington, D.C., April 25-27. Among the top prizes is a trip for the winning team to Lisbon, Portugal, during EXPO '98, which will celebrate the International Year of the Ocean. This trip will include an opportunity to participate in ocean research onboard a naval oceanographic research vessel. Other awards and recognition include scholarships, research cruises, and visits to oceanographic research laboratories.
The National Ocean Sciences Bowl receives financial support from the U.S. Navy Office of Naval Research and Oceanographer of the Navy, the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including the National Sea Grant College Program, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and is being conducted with technical assistance from the Department of Energy.
CORE is the Washington, D.C.-based organization representing 51 member-institutions that are the nucleus of U.S. federal, academic and industrial research and education in the ocean.
NMEA represents more than 1,000 professionals involved in education, science, marine research, business, government, museums and aquariums who are interested in the study and enjoyment of the world of water -- fresh and salt. Affiliated with the National Science Teachers Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, NMEA provides a valuable focus for marine and aquatic studies worldwide.
The schools sending teams to the finals to the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, are:
East Anchorage High School, Anchorage, Alaska
Mt. Carmel High School, San Diego, Calif.
Aptos High School, Santa Cruz, Calif.
Maritime and Science Technology Academy (MAST) Academy , Miami, Fla.
Contoohook Valley (CONVAL) Regional High School, Peterborough, N.H.
Lexington High School, Lexington, Mass.
Dexter High School, Dexter, Mich.
Dothan High School, Dothan, Ala.
Williams High School, Burlington, N.C.
North Marion High School, Aurora, Ore.
Du Bois Area High School, Du Bois, Pa.
Tolland High School, Tolland, Conn.
Woodward Academy, College Park, Ga.
Flour Bluff High School, Corpus Christi, Texas
Central Shenandoah Valley Regional Governor's School, Fishersville, Va.
Garfield High School, Seattle, Wa.
Additional information available at: http://core.cast.msstate.edu/NOSBtop.html
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Jim Mitchell
Director of Communications Consortium for Oceanographic Research & Education (CORE)
1755 Massachusetts Ave, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036-2102
Phone: 202/232-3900 x266
Fax: 202/332-9751
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
CORE on the Web at http://core.cast.msstate.edu
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