by Emily Zhao and Claudia Turner
High school students from across LA came together to talk science, math and engineering at Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s 34th Annual Regional Science Bowl academic competition on Feb. 21.
The day consisted of a buzzer-style round robin, a hands-on competition and a double elimination tournament.
High school students compete in Round Robin Tournaments at the LADWP Regional Science Bowl Competition on Feb. 21. (Robert Packard / HS Insider)
While scholarships and the chance for top honors were on the line, many students considered the real reward to be challenging themselves and connecting with peers who share their love of STEM.
“You get to know a lot of students from other schools during the competition,” said Connor Zhao, a senior at North Hollywood High School. “I’m always excited to meet new people and make friends.”
After a full day of rounds and tie-breakers, North Hollywood Senior High School’s Team A ultimately took the win and will represent the Los Angeles region in the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Science Bowl competition in Washington, D.C.
North Hollywood Senior High School Team A won first place at the L.A. Regional Science Bowl. (Photo courtesy of HS Insider)
But not every team comes to the LADWP Regional Science Bowl dead-set on making it to nationals.
Amelie Velez-Martinez, a senior at Downtown Business High School said her main priority going into the competition was simply to enjoy herself and make sure her teammates had a good time.
“I wanted to participate in the Science Bowl because uniting with others over a shared love of science is what drives me, and I’m hoping to go into soil chemistry when I graduate,” Velez-Martinez said. “I actually dyed my hair green just for today because it’s our school’s color and I’m really proud of all the work we’ve put in to get here. My hair serves as a reminder that today, win or lose, we had a fun time, and that’s what matters.”
Amelie Velez-Martinez is a senior at Downtown Magnets High School. (Robert Packard / HS Insider)
The Science Bowl academic competition started in 1992, when the Department of Energy proposed the idea of starting a science competition to encourage more kids to be interested in the public STEM sector.
Walter Zeisl, the LADWP’s former science bowl coordinator, who has been there since the beginning, said this goal has definitely been achieved, as he’s seen plenty of science bowl alumni come back to the LADWP as volunteers and full-time employees.
“We started with seven volunteers and 16 teams, and now we’ve grown to 42 teams in six divisions – it’s been incredible to witness,” Zeisl said. “Alumni who have a good time and see what we have to offer sometimes come back to work here or moderate for [the] science bowl. The fact that some people come back every year even after graduating school shows the great lengths the Science Bowl can inspire someone to take.”
North Hollywood Senior High School continues a legacy of Science Bowl victory
With buzzers at the ready and science facts at the tip of their tongues, the North Hollywood Senior High School’s Team A powered through rapid-fire rounds of science questions, securing first place at the LADWP Regional Science Bowl.
Their victory continues North Hollywood Senior High’s legacy of success in the competition, marking the school’s 11th consecutive regional championship. Besides the first-place crown, members of the team also earned individual $1,250 scholarships, a $3,000 award for the school’s science department and the Melinda Rho Championship Trophy.
The team’s coach Altair Maine attributed this year’s win to each member’s relentless dedication and collaborative effort.
“[The students] are curious, smart and interested people who are always learning,” Maine said. “They take initiative, just always finding resources to learn from, things to read and experts to talk to. They have even passed me up in many regards.”
The group now prepares to travel to Washington, D.C., where their teamwork and preparation will be tested against top Science Bowl teams from across the country.
Jumping for joy: North Hollywood Senior High School Team A celebrates their first-place victory at the Science Bowl Feb. 21. (Photo courtesy of HS Insider)
Charles Huang, a junior on North Hollywood’s Team A, acknowledged the difference in competition difficulty.
“As we move to national rounds, we’re definitely facing stronger teams, since everyone won their own regional contest,” Huang said. “Before we go, we’ll review everything we’ve studied, but also practice harder rounds more studied for the national level.”
As nationals approach, the students strive to go above and beyond in their preparations. Each member uniquely tailors their study strategy to their area of study: biology, for example, relies on memorizing content, while physics demands countless practice problems to understand concepts. In addition to mastering materials, the team also spends hours each week learning to recognize patterns in questions.
“Certain words can lead you toward an answer, and you start developing strategies for multiple-choice questions, like buzzing a bit earlier and predicting what comes next,” senior Suzuko Ohshima said. “It takes a lot of time, both inside and outside club meetings, that goes into becoming as good as we are.”
When asked about what makes this team so remarkable, Maine emphasized their well-rounded strengths and shared passion for science.
“This is a group where every core subject in science is well covered by someone who loves it and is very good at it,” Maine said. “Their interests complement each other well. They really are a phenomenal science school team with no weaknesses. That’s hard to pull off.”
For the North Hollywood team, the value of the Science Bowl competition lies as much in the connections and friendships formed as in the curiosity of learning.
“You get to meet so many curious, extraordinary people,” Ohshima said. “I think these sorts of friendships carry you a long way in both learning and as a person.”
Teams new to the Science Bowl
Though the Science Bowl tends to host familiar faces like North Hollywood Senior High, the lineup of participating schools is constantly rotating. This year, the competition saw 42 teams from 24 distinct high schools, three of which had never participated in a quiz bowl before.
The LADWP Science Bowl prides itself on providing a space for STEM-oriented kids to engage with their interests. Angel Grave, a senior from John C. Fremont High School, noted that despite his school being a newcomer to the Science Bowl scene, his team’s enthusiasm for science kept the atmosphere light.
“Sometimes, of course, we act serious, but mostly it’s just playful in there,” Grave said. “We keep things friendly with other teams because we’re all just there to [celebrate science]. Personally, I find quiz bowl fun because I’m interested in becoming an aerospace engineer or an astronaut.”
New teams like John C. Fremont High School may not be as well-versed in the buzzer format of the preliminary rounds in comparison to schools that have been attending for over a decade, but LADWP’s team provides more opportunities for teams to try their hands at than just the traditional quiz format. After lunch, the hands-on competition begins, designed and executed by the official Hands-On Competition Chair Hadith Mendoza.
“My event is building and creating engineering designs: giving teams that didn’t advance another chance to show their skills,” Mendoza said. “We’ve done catapults, airplanes, and racecars, testing each for accuracy in speed and efficiency. This year, the teams will be designing fan-powered regatta racing sailboats.”
The reason the hands-on competition exists is to give kids whose brains work better with kinesthetic activities a chance to show their strengths. Though the buzzer-style format is a great way to test scientific knowledge, according to Mendoza, “some kids shine best without the strict question and answer format.”
Downtown Magnets High School students prepare to build fan-powered regatta racing sailboats. (Emily Zhao / HS Insider)
“Personally, I don’t do well with tests, but I can build things. That’s just the way the brain functions; everyone is different,” Mendoza said. “It makes me so happy when one of the new teams first joins the hands-on competition and they see there’s more than one way to get scientifically engaged.
A student builds a sailboat for the Science Bowl’s regatta race. (Emily Zhao / HS Insider)
For Grave, part of the struggle, being from a school without a well-established Science Bowl program, is building a dedicated team. Most members of John C. Fremont’s group came from sports teams, which presented time management problems, but Grave says this background in athletics turned out to be “more of a strength than an issue.”
“Because the majority of us couldn’t be there at the same time due to sports, we had to do a lot of communication to get prepared,” Grave said. “But also knowing a lot about sports did help us with Science Bowl practice, because just like in a sport, you’re gonna have to work for consecutive days in order to get better. We just viewed the brain like a muscle, and made sure to really train it.”
