For the first time ever, a Malad Middle School Science Bowl Team won the INL-sponsored Middle School Science Bowl Regional Competition, making the team eligible to go to Washington, DC, for the national competition on April 24-28.  On Friday, March 7, the two teams representing Malad Middle School traveled to University Place in Idaho Falls to test their knowledge of math and science against that of 14 other middle school teams in western Idaho.

The students on the winning team were Bentley Teeples (captain), Liam Donnan, Andrew Pickett, Anna Chipman, and Seth Huckaby.  Their advisers were Kathy Atkinson and Tia Talbot, math and science teachers at Malad Middle School. Each team must have four members, an alternate, and a teacher who serves as adviser and coach.

The second Malad team was comprised of Jacob Pickett, Luke Schow, Karmyn Charles, Liam Atkinson, and Wesley Asay.

According to Harriet Kung, Acting Director of the Department of Energy Office of Science, “Now in its 35th year, the National Science Bowl brings together the most exceptional young minds from across America with science, technology, and math, and I am honored to congratulate the Malad Middle School Science Bowl team as they advance to the National Finals!”

In the “champion of champions” round, the Malad team first faced Preston Middle School, last year’s winning team. After beating Preston, Malad won against Rigby and finally faced the Idaho Science and Technology Charter School, to which Malad had lost earlier in the competition. It took two tie-breaking questions, both answered quickly and correctly by Bentley Teeples, before the Malad team was declared the winner. Bentley said, “It was the greatest moment of my life.”

The two Malad Middle School teams have studied and practiced four days a week since school started, using a buzzer system donated to the school to learn how to ring in quickly with the right answers to questions on a wide range of science disciplines, including biology, chemistry, Earth science, physics, energy, and math.

At the conclusion of the awards ceremony, a medal was presented to a member of each team; the quiz masters, judges, and timekeepers selected Bentley Teeples and Jacob Pickett of the Malad teams to receive medals for contributing the most to their teams.

The other teams were all from much larger communities. “Some of the schools may be about the size of our school, but they are all located in larger cities,” explained Kathy Atkinson as she and Tia Talbot expressed their pride in the Malad Middle School teams.

The other teams included one team each from Mountain View Middle School of Blackfoot and Alpine Academy of Pocatello, and two teams each from Blackfoot Charter School, Idaho Science and Technology Charter School of Blackfoot, Vera O’Leary Middle School of Twin Falls, Rigby Middle School, Preston Middle School, and Teton Middle School.

The press release from the National Science Bowl stated: “The NSB brings together thousands of middle and high school students from across the country to compete in a fast-paced verbal forum to solve technical problems and answer questions in all branches of science and math. The national event consists of several days of science activities and sightseeing, along with the competitions.” 

More than 10,000 students on winning teams from 46 middle school and 64 high school regional competitions will compete in the National Science Bowl Finals. Two middle school and two high school teams from Idaho will compete this year. The top two middle and high school teams will win $5000 for their schools’ math and science departments.  Other schools that place in the top 16 will win $1000 for their schools’ science departments.

The Department of Energy Office of Science manages the National Science Bowl and sponsors the finals competition, including paying for the teams to travel to Washington, DC.