University of Southern Maine

News Releases

USM Hosts Sixth Annual Northern New England Science Bowl

February 22, 2007

Editor's Note: More than 80 high school students from northern New England will travel to the University of Southern Maine on Saturday, March 3, to compete in the Northern New England Science Bowl. The event, co-sponsored by USM, National Semiconductor, and IDEXX Corporation, will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., in Bailey Hall on USM's Gorham Campus. This event is free and open to the public. The championship round will begin at about 3 p.m. in Room 10 of Bailey Hall. (Directions to the Gorham Campus: http://www.usm.maine.edu/generalinfo.htm)

Why do cosmic emission nebulae appear red on photographs? That's one of many such questions that top high school math and science students will answer during the sixth annual regional competition of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Science Bowl.
The regional bowl, the only competition in Northern New England, is one of 65 official regional qualifiers for the U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl in Washington D.C. held in late April. The student teams compete in a round-robin forum, answering math and science questions on topics ranging from astronomy to environmental science. The winning team will receive a trip to compete for the national title in Washington D.C.

The USM-based competition also includes an opportunity for teams to design and build a mousetrap vehicle that will compete for prizes in best design and best performance. Nationwide, more than 100,000 high school science and mathematics students and their teachers have participated in the DOE's National Science Bowl since the first competition in 1991. The student teams, comprised of four to five students and a teacher/coach, practice for months in preparation for the regional competition. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, please call USM Professor Rob Sanford at 780-5756 or Professor Bob Kuech at 780-5089.

>more news releases