STUDENTS DIVE INTO AQUATIC SCIENCE

AT LAKE STURGEON BOWL 2009

Posted: March 3, 2009

For the eighth straight year, Marshfield High School took top honors in the Lake Sturgeon Bowl, an annual tournament that tests the marine and freshwater science knowledge of Wisconsin high schoolers.

Twenty-five teams from around the state participated in this year's event, held February 21 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM).

The Lake Sturgeon Bowl is a regional competition of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership's National Ocean Sciences Bowl. Teams of five students compete head-to-head in the event, which features multiple rounds of Jeopardy-style quiz questions and written team-challenge exercises. Students are tested on the physics, chemistry, biology, and geology of the oceans and Great Lakes, as well as on history, navigation, geography, current events, and other related topics.

Winners of the twenty-five regional bowls held around the country advance to the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, which this year takes place April 25-27 in Washington, D.C. The first- through fourth-place teams of the national competition earn an experiential trip to an aquatic research site.

The bowl events aim to raise awareness of the oceans and Great Lakes and to foster an interest in marine and freshwater science careers. The day before the Lake Sturgeon Bowl tournament, regional participants attended an open house at the WATER Institute to learn about the work of scientists and staff. Students got a first-hand look at invasive mussels, learned about research into carbon dynamics and beach health, talked with a ship's crew member about navigation, and visited the WATER Institute's instrument shop, where technicians build specialized research equipment.

Additional water-oriented opportunities and prizes were awarded to competition winners. Along with the opportunity to compete in the national tournament, first-place Marshfield High School will participate in field excursions in the Chesapeake Bay area during their trip to Washington D.C. Second-place Spring Valley won their choice of a scientific excursion aboard the WATER Institute's research vessel Neeskay or a density flow model for the classroom. Third-and fourth-place winners, Stevens Point Area Senior High School and Whitefish Bay High School, will receive an aquaculture system or a set of calipers.

The tournament also includes a junior varsity division for teams involved in UWM's Ocean Odyssey Diversity Initiative. This year, the Inland Seas School of Expeditionary Learning took first place in this division, earning a scientific excursion aboard the Neeskay.

Begun in 2002, the Lake Sturgeon Bowl is

named after the ancient, slow-growing fish that is native to the upper Mississippi River system, the Great Lakes, and the St. Lawrence and

Hudson Bay watersheds. Wisconsin is home to the best remaining natural populations of lake sturgeon in North America, with the largest

population living in Lake Winnebago.

The Lake Sturgeon Bowl is coordinated by the UWM School of Continuing Education, the WATER Institute, and the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Advisory Services, and is made possible by the support of numerous partners, sponsors, and contributors. More than 100 volunteers, including UWM students, faculty, staff, and local community and business representatives, helped run this year's event.

-Jennifer Yauck