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PLEASE VOLUNTEER!

2008 NEBRASKA SCIENCE BOWLS

High Schools, February 2, 2008               Middle Schools, January 26, 2008

University of Nebraska, Student Union

Lincoln, Downtown Campus, 14th & R Streets

Would you take two or four hours on a Saturday to help out at the Nebraska Science Bowls this year?  Please check one or two (or more!) time slots you would be available and write in your first, second, and third choice as to what type of duty you would like.  If we get enough volunteers, everyone can work two or three hours and have the rest of their Saturday free.  Please return this form by January 4.  You will be notified of your position and the time you will be needed by January 11 for Middle School Competition and January 18 for High School Competition.  Help make a difference in some young people’s lives by volunteering today!  Thank you!

We need about 200 volunteers to help run the 14th Annual Nebraska High School Science Bowl and the 5th Annual Nebraska Middle School Science Bowl.  About 200 high school students (40 teams) & 200 middle school students (40 teams) compete in these events for a free trip to nationals.  We need time keepers, rules judges, science judges, score keepers, and moderators for the competition.  Helpers get questions to rooms and retrieve scores for Science Bowl Central.  Descriptions of the duties of these officials are listed. 

The main volunteer duties are listed below but we can always use folks for odd jobs as they come up, and the competition is truly fun to watch, so don't hesitate to volunteer even if you don’t see a job you specifically want to do.

All officials need to attend one of two mandatory training sessions.  Mandatory training sessions will be held Thursday evening from 7:00-9:00 PM on January 24, 2008 and Friday morning from 9:00 - 11:00 AM on January 25, 2008 at the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District office at 3125 Portia Street in Lincoln.

Rules Judge: Rules Judges ensure all competition rules are followed, watch the scorekeeper for errors, and ensure that quiet is maintained in the competition room.  Attendance is required at either of two training sessions.

Timekeepers: Timekeepers operate the official competition time clock, keep track of time for bonus questions, keep moderator on track during toss-up questions, and reset the clock at the conclusion of each round.  Attendance is required at either of two training sessions.

Science Judge: Science Judges will resolve question challenges and ensure that the moderator has read each question correctly.  Attendance is required at either of two training sessions.  Please circle area or areas of expertise.

  • COMPUTERS
  • EARTH SCIENCE
  • MATH
  • CHEMISTRY
  • BIOLOGY
  • ASTRONOMY
  • PHYSICS
  • GENERAL

Scorekeeper: Scorekeepers will accurately award points and record the competition score, collect scratch paper, collect and take score sheets to Science Bowl Central for tally.  Attendance is required at either of two training sessions.

Moderator: The Moderator controls the match rounds.  Moderators will be familiar with contest rules.  They read the questions; recognize students to answer questions, and award points.  (This is the job Allen Ludden did on the G. E. Science Bowl in the 60's, and Alex Trebek does on Jeopardy!).  Attendance is required at one of the two training sessions.  Assistance is available to work with moderators on competition cadence, pronunciation of scientific terms, etc.

Executive Positions: If you want to help us (and we really need it) and don't see anything above you specifically like to do, volunteer anyhow!  We will make you feel needed, we promise!

To volunteer, follow this link to a volunteer form. 

Last Modified:  10/26/2007