Friday, February 16, 2018

The UNCW Center for Marine Science and Watson College of Education are again hosting the annual North Carolina Blue Heron Bowl. On Feb. 17, fourteen teams of high school students will compete in the regional marine science quiz bowl for a chance to represent North Carolina at the National Ocean Sciences Bowl in Boulder, CO, in April.

The teams will be welcomed at a dinner on Friday evening at the CMS, with the competition beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday in the Education Building. After Friday’s dinner, Steve Pfaff, Warning Coordinator for NOAA’s National Weather Service in Wilmington, NC, will speak on how oceans shape weather – the theme of this year's competition.

“The Blue Heron Bowl gives UNCW the opportunity to showcase our facilities and research to the next generation of undergraduates,” said Erin Moran, the event’s lead coordinator and director of UNCW’s MarineQuest. “The event would not be possible without the team of UNCW student, faculty and staff volunteers.”

Alternative activities will be provided in the afternoon for teams eliminated in the early rounds, including a simulated right whale and ghost net impacts activity, a tour of the UNCW main campus and ichthyology lab experience.

The 2019 and 2020 competitions will be held at East Carolina University. The host site rotates between UNCW, ECU, UNC Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University every two years.

-- Caroline Cropp

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