Blue Crab Bowl 2015

Earlier this month, I spent all day Saturday on my feet, telling high schoolers to be quiet.  Maybe not my first choice on how to spend a weekend day, but it was all for a good cause.

Every year, in February, my university and another institution band together to host the Blue Crab Bowl.  It's a high school trivia contest focused on all aspects of the ocean sciences, from physics and biology to marine technology and politics.  Teams from different high schools in the area come to compete in our regional bowl.  The winners are sent on to the national competition, the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, held this April in Ocean Springs, MS.

Match officials look on as two high school teams compete in the Blue Crab Bowl.  Source

To us, this competition is more than just another type of high school trivia games.  In most high schools across the US, students are not offered any courses on ocean sciences.  They can graduate without any understanding of the environment.  By holding the Blue Crab Bowl every year, we help encourage students to learn basic knowledge about ocean sciences and work to decrease the national gap in environmental studies.

Of course, our hope is that the students who participate will stay interested in the ocean and go on to have ocean-based careers.  Even if they don't, we've helped prepare them for careers in any STEM subject (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), and increased their basic understanding of science.

Check out the NOSB website and our local BCB website and Facebook page to learn more about the competition and see more pictures.

And, if you are up for a challenge, take this quiz!  It's based on past ocean science competition questions.  How much do you know about ocean sciences?