Volunteers Prep for Pantex Science Bowls

Pantexans and their friends are busy preparing for what some would call their favorite Pantex event.

More than 150 volunteers will serve as officials for the regional Science Bowls sponsored this month by Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS).

Pantexans (from left) Kayla Mendoza, Gabriel Chacon, Howard Thompson and Nathan Escarcega prepare to “buzz in” during a mock Science Bowl round.

The volunteers are employees from the Pantex Plant and NNSA Production Office, as well as West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) faculty and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy students. Even a few Pantex Plant retirees will be on hand as moderators, science judges, scorekeepers and timekeepers.

Students from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy learn the Science Bowl rules and practice during a mock round to prepare for the upcoming regional competitions.

Thirty-eight teams will test their skills in the Feb. 7 competition for middle school students. Thirty-one teams, some from as far away as Lubbock and Higgins, will face-off at the Feb. 21 high school competition.

As part of CNS’s commitment to education, it will donate $1,000 to the science programs of the winning schools. Winners also receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Science Bowl®.