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Science Bowl
Since 2001, the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at ISU has hosted the Indiana Regional of the DOE National Middle School Science Bowl each year. The competition normally takes place on the last Saturday in February in Root Hall on ISU's campus. The event is staffed mostly by ISU faculty and students, and receives financial support from ISU's College of Arts and Sciences.
Competition Format
Teams compete from different schools. A team is 4 or 5 middle school students, with 4 competing at any given time. The moderator reads "toss up" questions from different categories of math and science (see the link to sample questions below), and the first person to ring in gets a chance to answer. When a toss-up question is answered correctly, the team gets a chance at a "bonus" question that the team discusses as a team. See the link below to the official rules for more details.
All teams compete in a round robin fashion during the morning. After lunch, the top 8 teams (based on results from the round robin rounds) compete in a double-elimination tournament to determine the winner of the region. Teams that are eliminated can stay to watch other matches or compete in "fun rounds" after they are eliminated.
Date and Time
The competition is normally the last Saturday in February. The date is normally approved and announced in the summer for the following year. The contest normally begins at 9am, with teams arriving at least 15 minutes early to check-in on site. The final match of the contest is normally around 4-4:30pm.
For 2019, the contest is on Saturday February 23, with team check-in beginning at 8:30am in room A-011 in the basement of Root Hall.
Location
The contest takes place in the basement classrooms in Root Hall on ISU's campus. The address is 424 N. 7th Street, Terre Haute, Indiana 47809. Team check-in is in room A-011 in the basement. See this google map for the location of Root Hall. Note that all parking lots at ISU are free on the weekend (with the exception of gated or metered lots, none of which are very close to Root Hall). There are parking lots close to the department off of 7th, 8th, and 9th streets. For more on visiting ISU, see Visiting ISU or Campus Maps (click "PDF Maps" at the top right). Lunch will be in the Sycamore Dining Hall, which is labeled on the google map, and whose address is 401 Chestnut St.
Detailed Schedule and Results
The schedule of matches and teams competing for 2019 are linked just below. Teams should arrive in the basement of Root Hall to check in by 8:45am at the latest; local teams should instruct team members to arrive at Root Hall around 8:30. Lunch will be around 12. Half of the teams will compete in the afternoon in double elimination, with the last match being around 4 or 4:30pm. Eliminated teams can stick around to watch or play "fun rounds" (against parents, coaches, between teams, etc.).
The results and schedule from recent years are in the following -
- 2019 Schedule (up to date), PDF (generated 13-feb-2019)
- 2018 Schedule and Results
- 2017 Schedule and Results
National Competition
The winning team from each regional contest, including the Indiana Regional, is invited to participate in the national contest in Washington, D.C. The Department of Energy pays for the trip for each winning team (team members and coach) to travel to Washington, D.C. The national event is normally during the last week of April or first week in May, from a Thursday to Monday.
Elligibility
The middle school regional contest is for middle school students only (grades 6, 7, 8). A separate competition for high school students takes place in Indianapolis; see Indiana High School Regional for details. Teams must be approved by the school principal. The Indiana Regional normally takes teams from Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.
Refreshments and Lunch
Lunch is provided for all team members and coaches. Light refreshments (Square Donuts, fruit, cookies, drinks) are provided in the morning for all who are present.
Registration
See the official information about the Indiana Regional at the DOE at the link below for information about registering. Registration normally opens sometime in October.
Contact
Dr. Jeff Kinne, jkinne@cs.indstate.edu associate professor of computer science at ISU, is co-coordinator for the event. Mr. Derrick Bowman, Derrick.Bowman@indstate.edu instructor of mathematics at ISU, is the coordinator. Dr. Henjin Chi, professor emeritus of mathematics at ISU, was the founder of the event.
Resources
- Official information at DOE website - Indiana Regional, Rules, National Finals Videos
- Sample questions
- Material to study: physics4kids, cosmos4kids, biology4kids, chem4kids, geography4kids, mathguy
- Math Counts - school handbook, past competitions, problem of the week
- DOE Middle School Science Bowl info at wikipedia
- Short Science Videos - PBS Digital Studios
- Timer/scoring web app that we use
- Buzzer system that we use
- Score sheets that coaches may fill in during a match
- Volunteers - first look at some sample questions linked above, read Rules linked just above, watch some of the national finals for middle school (linked above), and then check FAQ for Judges/Volunteers .
Historical Results
The winning teams at the Indiana Middle School Regional have been as follows.
- 2019: Sycamore School
- 2018: Creekside Middle School
- 2017: Sycamore School
- 2016: Sycamore School (second place at nationals)
- 2015: Sycamore School
- 2014: Sycamore School
- 2013: Creekside Middle School (first place at nationals)
- 2012: Creekside Middle School
- 2011: Sycamore School
- 2010: Klondike Middle School
- 2009: Honey Creek Middle School
- 2008: Honey Creek Middle School
- 2007: Honey Creek Middle School (first place at nationals)
- 2006: Honey Creek Middle School (first place at nationals)
- 2005: Honey Creek Middle School (first place at nationals)
- 2004: Honey Creek Middle School
- 2003: Honey Creek Middle School
- 2002: Honey Creek Middle School
- 2001: Honey Creek Middle School