The Rose Bowl may be over, but Palo Altans thirsty for the thrill of competition need not despair. Science Bowl is almost here.

Budding scientists from three local middle schools will test their knowledge March 2 in the National Science Bowl competition, which will pit four-student teams from JLS, Jordan and Terman middle schools against students from 19 other public and private middle schools in the region between San Jose to San Francisco.

Competition, which the public can watch, begins at 9:15 a.m. at National Hispanic University, 14271 Story Road, San Jose. It was originally scheduled to take place in Mountain View at NASA Ames Research Center.

The local students will join more than 4,400 middle schoolers from across the country seeking regional prizes — fully paid trips to Washington, D.C., for the national finals at the end of April.

Topics of questioning include astronomy, biology, earth science, math and physics. Science Bowl has been sponsored for the past 23 years by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science as a way to encourage students to pursue scientific careers. The young scientists will also have to contend with the high bar that was just set by local high school students.

In February, Palo Alto High School's Science Bowl team prevailed in the regional competition and will head to Washington for the national finals in April.

— Palo Alto Weekly staff

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