Photo one: (from left Sevan Anthony, Cullen Larkin, and Ethan Peng, pictured with coach, Sheri Muehleman) not pictured: Ameile Johnson and Ali Yarali
MMS Sixth Grade Students to Compete in 13th Anniversary—DOE Science Bowl-West Kentucky Regional Competition for National Science Bowl®
Murray, Ky., Jan. 19-------Murray Middle School students received a surprise from the The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), University of Kentucky, and the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business Education Partnership (BEP), in support to the groups preparation for the thirteenth annual Depart of Education (DOE) West Kentucky Regional Science Bowl. As a pre-treat to the competition, students received a gift package including t-shirts, back-packs, and an umbrella.
Sheri Muehleman, MMS coach , has been instructing students Ethan Peng, Cullen Larkin, Ameile Johnson, Selvan Anthony and Ali Yarali in preparation for the upcoming West Kentucky Regional Science Bowl, Friday, February 19, 2021. Due to COVID-19, middle and high school teams will be invited to participate in the “DOE Virtual Science Bowl® West Kentucky Regionals.” The regional high school competition will be held Friday, February 5, 2021, prior to the middle school competition.
Teams that win at the regional level will represent Western Kentucky in the 2021 National Science Bowl® Final. The national event is tentatively set to be held in the Washington, DC area on April 29 – May 3, 2021. Depending upon guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state of Maryland, and the District of Columbia, the National Finals may also be a virtual event.
Muehleman said the pre-tournament gifts were used from funding originally set aside for student’s lunch meals. “Since they will not have to provide lunch they used the money as a way to help keep participants safe and build excitement,” she explained. “We are so excited to join in this prestigious competition and can’t wait to utilize our 1:1 technology for this virtual event.”
While the DOE funds team expenses to participate in the National Science Bowl®, additional funds are required for the regional competitions. Businesses who contribute financially to the event will be listed as sponsors on the official event t-shirt and will be acknowledged during the opening ceremony at the regional competition for their sponsorship of this unique, regional, student event during the opening comments at the regional competition.
In 2020, Kentucky was represented by Lone Oak Middle School in Paducah and Gatton Academy in Bowling Green. Both teams advanced to the National Science Bowl® Final. With your help, the region will send two more teams to the national competition in 2021. DOE launched the National Science Bowl (https://science.energy.gov/wdts/nsb/) competition in 1991. The competition encourages high school and middle school students across the nation to excel in math and science and to pursue careers in these fields. More than 290,000 students have participated in the National Science Bowl® throughout its 30-year history; it is one of the nation’s largest science competitions. Teams of students compete in a fast-paced, “Jeopardy®” style question-and-answer format. Similar to a sporting event, Science Bowl participants compete in a round robin format followed by a single or double elimination final tournament.