A quiz bowl for Colorado and Wyoming high school students centered on ocean processes and events will be held on the University of Colorado at Boulder campus on Saturday, Feb. 27.
The regional competition is part of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, intended to broaden the awareness and understanding of high school students, educators and the public regarding the value of ocean research.
Categories for the Ocean Sciences Bowl competition include the biology, chemistry, geology, physics, history and economics of the world's oceans, as well as navigation, geography, and ocean-related current events.
The Colorado event will be held in the first floor conference rooms at the University Memorial Center from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The goal is to recognize excellence among students interested in ocean sciences, said Colorado bowl coordinator Marie Rundle of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences' K-12 Outreach Program.
Organizers are hopeful the event will stimulate participants to become the next generation of oceanographers, marine scientists and leaders who understand human dependencies on the world's oceans and the need for new ocean-related knowledge, she said.
Colorado Regional Science Bowl competitors will include two teams from Boulder High School, one from Denver's George Washington High, two teams from Poudre High and one from Fort Collins High in Fort Collins. One team each will be attending from North Park High in Walden, Manzanola High in Manzanola, Moffat Consolidated School in Moffat and Newcastle High in Newcastle, Wyo.
The winner of the Colorado Regional Ocean Sciences Bowl will vie in the national competition to be held April 10 through April 12 in Washington, D.C.
The National Ocean Sciences Bowl was organized by the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education. National sponsors include NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Oceanographer of the Navy, the Office of Naval Research, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Sea Education Association.
Colorado sponsors that have donated cash, goods and services include CU-Boulder, Roche Industries of Boulder, the Boulder branch of NOAA, the University of Northern Colorado and Ocean Journey, the new Denver aquarium slated to open later this year.
Others include Leisure Time Products of Boulder, the Leanin' Tree Museum of Boulder, Mann Theaters of Boulder, Boulder's Crossroads Mall, the Rocky Mountain Diving Center in Boulder, Weaver's Dive & Travel Center of Boulder, Wal-Mart of Lafayette and Becky Ericson of Wright Kingdom Realtors of Boulder.
The City of Boulder's Drinking Water and Wastewater Treatment Program and Leslie Smith of CU-Boulder's Center for Limnology also are helping to sponsor the event.
For more information or to help sponsor the quiz bowl, contact Rundle at 303-492-5657.