Mission, Texas- A Science Bowl team from Mission Jr. High School (MJH) will be making a trip to Washington, DC in late April to compete at the national level. The team of five students recently earned the right to represent the region at the 2019 U.S. Department of Department of Energy National Science Bowl, based upon their performance at a regional competition hosted by The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). Student teams from 13 counties in South Texas participated in this regional event. This will be the second time MJH has sent a team to the National Science Bowl.
Pictured are the MJH Science Bowl during awards at the UTRGV event. They are, from left to right: Dr. Ala Qubbaj, UTRGV dean of engineering; Citlali Arizpe, seventh grade; Jaime Ceja, eighth grade; Micah Sanchez, eighth grade; Brandon Molina, eighth grade; Marcos Garcia, seventh grade; David Land, team coach.
A second MJH team placed third at the regional competition. That team consists of: Loryn Sanchez, Autumn Gonzalez, Lesley Barrera, Quentin Rodriguez, Cristian Arguijo.
This will be the fourth team Mission Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) teams have qualified for the National Science Bowl. This will be the second team from MJH to qualify. The first MJH qualified in 2015. Alton Memorial Jr. High School has also sent two teams (2014, 2015).
The Science Bowl is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The National Science Bowl is a nationwide academic competition that tests students’ knowledge in all areas of Science and Math. The teams are comprised of four students, one alternate, and a teacher who serves as their coach. The competition is an intense, fast-paced, game-show style competition testing the knowledge of the students in: Biology, Chemistry, Life Science, Earth Science, Physics, Energy, and Math.
A featured event at the National Science Bowl for middle school students is an Engineering Challenge/Competition. Teams are awaiting notification of what that challenge will be. The last time a Mission CISD team advanced to nationals, it involved building a model electric car.
The DOE created the National Science Bowl in 1991 to encourage students to excel in Math and Science and to pursue careers in these fields. More than 290,000 students have participated in the National Science Bowl throughout its 28-year history, and it is one of the nation’s largest science competitions.
# # #