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─Albert Einstein

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Madison Park School goes to Nationals

Phoenix Team Wins Second Opportunity at National Science Bowl® for Middle School Students

Sunday, February 29^th, 2009 -On ASU’s Tempe Campus, 27 teams competed for the Arizona Middle School Science Bowl first place title. Science-minded contestants from throughout the state of Arizona were present to demonstrate their expertise.  Many were regular rivals, but higher numbers and new participants came out for the third consecutive event.

Record number teams also meant record number visitors for the esteemed Science competition. ASU’s W.P. Carey building was nearly jam-packed with students, coaches, family members, friends of family members and volunteers. The day was kicked off with an opening ceremony highlighted by Kevin Margeson, Manufacturing Program Manager for Honeywell Aerospace and the NASA Project Orion.

Excitement and nervousness were high in the third floor classrooms. Teams sat side by side as they buzzed-in to give their answers. The toss-up questions were worth 4 points and bonus questions were worth 10 points. Each team within their own divisions played each other in Round Robin matches one at a time.

The competition later advanced to a double elimination format where just some of the original teams advanced. After several blocks of competitions, the event came down to just three teams- BASIS Scottsdale Team #2, Kyrene Altadena Team #1 and Madison Park School. Teams fought hard and answered as many questions as they could to gain the lead. But in the end, it was the Madison Park team who received the first place title.

It will be the second trip to the National Science Bowl for the Madison Park team. BASIS Scottsdale Team #1 actually came in first place at the 2008 event. Unfortunately, the team was unable to make it to the National Science Bowl event. That is when the team from Madison Park School, who had placed second at the event, stepped in and represented Arizona at the national event.

To conclude the 2009 Arizona (regional) Middle School Science Bowl, the team from Madison Park took its group photo ―some with contagious grins and black sequined sombreros. Others on the team also wore interesting ensembles, demonstrating how “smart” doesn’t necessarily mean boring.  The remaining coaches, volunteers and family members cheered for all teams who had made it through to the end. This year, Arizona will be represented at the National Science Bowl by the Madison Park School Science Bowl team once again.

The National Science Bowl Event was held from April 30 – May 5, 2009 at the 4-H Center near Washington, D.C. For the first time ever, the high school and middle school competitions were held at the same location and time.