K-12 Student Competitions
Mentoring or judging science fair projects
Science fairs are held at the level of individual classes or classes at a specific grade level, whole school, whole school district, regionally, and statewide. Science fair coordinators provide mentors and judges with guidelines and training.
Contact your local school or the curriculum coordinator or science education specialist for a school district for communities affected by your research to find out the specifics. Contact organizers of regional and statewide science fairs and contacts to express interest in mentoring or judging.
Coaching a National Ocean Science Bowl team or judging the statewide competition
The NOSB is a nationally recognized and highly acclaimed high school academic competition that provides a forum for talented students to test their knowledge of the marine sciences including biology, chemistry, physics, and geology.
The Alaska Tsunami Ocean Sciences Bowl is the regional competition for Alaska high school. The statewide tournament-style “quiz bowl” competition takes place in Seward in early February. The winning team of the Alaska Tsunami Bowl competes against other regional teams from all over the United States in the national competition. This is an opportunity to mentor students who have an interest in ocean sciences and provide them the opportunity to learn more about ocean science careers and possibly earn a college scholarship.
Robotics competitions
Marine technology, especially instrument that move on their own like AUVs, can be a great hook for K-12 students. Many schools have science teachers with an engineering or technology focus and also host or participate in robotics competitions.
- Example: The SeaPerch program, developed by MIT, provides teacher training in Alaska in building an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and provides them with a kit at low cost. Several teachers have used these kits or worked with local scientists in extended projects to build one or more AUVs, use them in experiments in local waters or in a pool, and hold competitions. For information about teacher trainings and participating in the program in Alaska, contact Mary Hakala, mhakala at gospringboard.org.
|
