Marshfield High School Wins National Ocean Sciences Competition
(Click to enlarge) 1st Place Team – Marshfield High School – Marshfield, Wisconsin (Photo by Will Ramos / Ocean Leadership)
14th Annual National Ocean Sciences Bowl Held in Galveston, Texas
(Washington, DC) – Marshfield High School from Marshfield, Wisconsin won the 14th Annual National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB®) Final, held April 29 – May 1, 2011 at Texas A&M University, Galveston in Galveston, Texas. Twenty-four high schools from around the United States competed in this year’s NOSB Finals Competition. The NOSB is an ocean science education program of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership based in Washington, DC.
After competing in their respective regional competitions in February, these 24 high schools traveled to Galveston for the opportunity to compete with their peers on their knowledge of our oceans during the NOSB Finals Competition. Approximately 2,000 students from over 300 high schools participated in NOSB in 2011.
At both the regional and national level, the competition consists of buzzer-style, multiple choice questions and longer, critical thinking-based team challenge questions on ocean-related topics. During this weekend’s Finals Competition, the students also participated in a new pilot Policy Briefing component. This component, which was implemented in order to provide students with a broader understanding of the interconnections between science, law and the public, was not part of the overall, regular competition scores but a separate winner was announcement.
Along with the competition, the students participated in a day of interactive field trips around the city of Galveston, an engaging speed-career search event and heard inspiring presentations from world-renowned ocean scientists such as Dr. Sylvia Earle and Dr. Ellen Prager. The theme for this year’s Finals Competition was “Human Responses to Ocean Events,” chosen because of the recent number of natural and unnatural ocean phenomena such as hurricanes, tsunamis and oil spills. With the city of Galveston recently re-built after Hurricane Ike, the students saw this theme demonstrated first hand.
The top eight teams at the Finals Competition were:
1st Place – Marshfield High School – Marshfield, Wisconsin
2nd Place – Lexington High School – Lexington, Massachusetts
3rd Place – Santa Monica High School – Santa Monica, California
4th Place – Mt. Sinai High School – Mt. Sinai, New York
5th Place – Contoocook Valley Regional High School – Peterborough, New Hampshire
6th Place – Mission San Jose High School – Fremont, California
7th Place – State College High School – State College, Pennsylvania
8th Place – North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics – Durham, North Carolina
Other winners were also named at the annual Finals Competition, including the Policy Briefing winner, the James D. Watkins Sportsmanship Award winner and the NOSB “Living on the Ocean Planet” video contest winner. Marine & Oceanographic Academy of Westwood High School from Ft. Pierce, Florida won the Sportsmanship Award, which is voted upon by their peers for demonstrating the best sportsmanship throughout the weekend-long competition. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia won the third annual NOSB “Living on the Ocean Planet” video contest with their video “Making Every Difference,” which showcased the inextricable connection between humans and the ocean. Juneau-Douglas/Thunder Mountain High School from Juneau, Alaska became NOSB’s first Policy Briefing Champions.
“Upon the completion of each Finals Competition, I am consistently amazed at the outstanding knowledge of the student participants,” said Robert B. Gagosian, President & CEO of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. “It reaffirms that the NOSB has a significant role to play in the field of ocean sciences because these students are the future leaders of both the field and our country.”
The first, second and third place teams received all expense paid awards trips to experience ocean sciences in person in Puerto Rico, California and South Florida. The fourth through eighth place teams received an array of prizes from marine science textbooks to gift certificates. The Policy Briefing champions won a trip to Washington State to meet with members of the Pacific Coast Grower’s Association.
For more information about the NOSB Finals, including a list of participants and sponsors, visit http://www.nosb.org/competitions-2/finals-competition/.
About Consortium for Ocean Leadership
Ocean Leadership is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that represents 99 of the leading public and private ocean research education institutions, aquaria and industry with the mission to advance research, education and sound ocean policy. The organization also manages, coordinates and facilitates ocean research and education programs in areas of scientific ocean drilling, ocean observing, ocean exploration and ocean partnerships.
About National Ocean Sciences Bowl
The National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) is a program of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership based in Washington, D.C. NOSB seeks to interest students in pursuing a college degree and future career in the ocean sciences. Through this educational forum, the NOSB strives to encourage and support the next generation of marine scientists, policy makers, teachers, explorers, researchers, technicians, environmental advocates and informed citizens, to consider and appreciate the ocean. Approximately 2,000 students from over 300 high schools participated in 2010.
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