Science Club Competes in Science Bowl for First Time

Science Club participated Saturday in the Regional Science Bowl for the first time. Up until last year, the team didn't even exist.

Junior members Esha Jain and Jenna Crawford were part of the science club in and wanted to continue it for the high school.

"We started it in 10th grade, and just wanted to open it up a little more to everyone," said Jain.

The Science Bowl was held at UMass-Lowell for the fourth consecutive year. 30 schools from the region tested their knowledge of physics, biology, energy, chemistry, and astronomy, among other disciplines in a trivia constest with the winner qualifying for the National Science Bowl held in Washington D.C.

Coordinator of Academic Student Services for UMass-Lowell's College of Engineering Betty Fortin acted as the sole administrator for the event, and explained that participation has increased every year.

"The first year we had about 27 teams. Last year we had 29. This year we had 30. And every year there are new schools competing... like North Reading."

Although the team only won one of the nine rounds they competed in, four of their competitors were finalists from last year's competition, including the top two teams, Lexington High A and B squads.

Coach Katelyn Carrette believes their experience will be seen as motivation for other members of the club to participate.

"This event is a lot more fun for the kids than some of the others. This is really just about testing your knowledge of science against other schools," Carrette said. 

Other events, such as the Science Olympiad, involve a lot more preparation and students sometimes spend weeks working on a project to enter into that competition.

Junior team member Jenn Ma said the experience was something to build off of.

"We can practice more strategy for next time, like how to hit the buzzers faster. We knew a lot of the questions, we just didn't buzz in fast enough," Ma said.

Crawford added, "I think a lot of the club members [were nervous] about this. But, I think they'll realize it's a lot of fun, and maybe we'll get two teams next year."

The team is trying to open the science club to as many of the regional events as possible for anyone who wants to participate. In the past year, they have added the Science Olympiad, Science Bowl, and Science League, among others. One student placed first in one competition at the Science League in October for the development of a parachute glider.

The team will be participating in the Olympiad on March 17.