Wayzata High School Wins the Minnesota Regional Science Bowl
Online science competition provided an opportunity to connect during COVID pandemic
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
St. Paul, MN [January 26, 2021] - Wayzata High School has won the 2021 Minnesota Regional High School Science Bowl, competing against 28 other teams from 17 high schools. The Minnesota Academy of Science (MAS) hosted the virtual event on Saturday, January 23.
Wayzata’s winning team - Matthew Chen, Emily Liu, Vikrant Mahajan, Aneesh Swaminathan and Andrew Yang - will compete in the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Science Bowl this spring. This year’s Science Bowl marks the fourth year in a row that Wayzata High School has taken home the top prize. Wayzata’s two additional teams came in second and fourth place, while Minnetonka Senior High took third place. See full competition results at mnmas.org/science-bowl.
Wayzata High School’s winning team and coach, Amanda Laden.
During Science Bowl, students compete in teams to answer questions from numerous branches of science and math. The virtual tournament runs in a fast-paced, synchronous format, where team scores are compared to determine who advances to the next level of competition. “Changes made to accommodate the online format resulted in increased communication among team members during the competition, which helped students discover when to be confident in themselves, and when to reach out to and trust another team member,” said Wayzata High School Science Bowl coach Amanda Laden. “It turns out, you don't need a buzzer to have an exciting tournament. It was thrilling!”
Science Bowl enables students to increase their teamwork skills while also learning more about science and math. Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) events such as Science Bowl also motivate students, keeping the STEM pipeline in Minnesota strong.
Founded in 1873, the Minnesota Academy of Science (MAS) is a statewide 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering interest in STEM by sponsoring STEM-education programs and events for students in elementary school through college. MAS sponsors Science Bowl with the help of more than 70 volunteers and with generous support from General Mills, Ecolab, Hardenbergh Foundation, the Minnesota Department of Education, and the United States Department of Energy.
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For more information:
Lara Maupin, MAS Executive Director, laramaupin@mnmas.org
Emily Shepard, MAS Communications Coordinator, emilyshepard@mnmas.org
