Monday, March 06, 2006

CMRC Participates in National Ocean Sciences Bowl in Stony Brook

The CMRC particpated in the 2006 National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) regional "Bay Scallop Bowl" this past Sunday and assisted SUNY Stony Brook with the day's events along with many other volunteers from the coastal and ocean community. During the event, 16 high school teams compete against each other in a series of rounds of ocean science-related questions with a regional champion being crowned at the end of the day. Multiple supporters and volunteers came together to make the 2006 NOSB a great success! Below is more information from SUNY Stony Brook's Marine Sciences Research Center. JB

The Bay Scallop Bowl is a regional competition of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) held annually in New York. The bowl is hosted by the Marine Sciences Research Center of Stony Brook University and takes place on the Stony Brook University campus on a Saturday in February or early March. The competition features teams of high school students competing for cash prizes and a chance to represent New York in the NOSB final competition.

The National Ocean Science Bowl (NOSB) is an annual competition for high school students and is sponsored by the Washington DC-based
Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE.) CORE represents the nation’s leading marine research institutions, laboratories, and aquaria, sponsors the NOSB. The National Marine Educators Association (NMEA) and federal government provide base funding for the NOSB, but local host institutions must meet the costs of running their regional competitions. The objective of the NOSB is to raise awareness an understanding on the oceans and coastal resources among the nation’s high school students. Each year, the NOSB orchestrates 20-25 regional competitions distributed around the nation’s coastal areas, including the Great Lakes region. Regional competitions are held in February or early March. The winning teams from each regional event meet in the NOSB finals, held in late April at a different coastal location each year. The top-finishing teams in the NOSB finals receive great prizes featuring all expenses paid multi-day trips to oceanographic laboratories around the country.

New York’s schools are among the best in the nation and our high school students do extremely well in science fairs and national science competitions, such as that sponsored by the Intel Corporation. Many Long Island high schools offer courses in oceanography or marine biology. The average interest and knowledge level about the marine environment among Long Island high school students is high.

The Marine Sciences Research Center is among the world’s great institutions for study and instruction in the marine sciences. It has a long history of working with state and municipal governments, the business community, non-governmental organizations, and the people of coastal New York to better understand and manage the marine environment that is so important to the state’s economy and lifestyle. The Center has conducted extensive programs and activities over the past thirty years involving local school districts, teachers, and students. As the locus for marine science research and education in New York, MSRC is the natural host for a New York NOSB regional competition.

SUNY Stony Brook's Regional Bay Scallop Bowl
http://alpha1.msrc.sunysb.edu/~BSB/

NY Seagrant NOSB Information
http://www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/Pages/SBUPR-OceanSci022206.htm

Core's National Ocean Sciences Bowl Site
http://www.nosb.org/

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