Students from the Tacoma Science and Math Institute got their feet wet participating in the annual statewide Orca Bowl, a knowledge competition quizzing students on marine knowledge, which includes everything from water quality data, ocean organisms, marine policies and plate tectonics.
“It's one of the best ways to find things out and to get the knowledge out there. Orca bowl is just a really great way to teach us, our families and everyone around through competition,” team member Keyan Gootkin said.
Students were split into “A” and “B” teams, and the “A” team’s finish was second only to Friday Harbor High School, who will move on to national competition.
“A lot of what was really cool was talking to the Friday Harbor’s ‘A Team.’ They were all super nice, and we even found out the captain of the team was the daughter of a marine biologist and oceanographer who works at UW. She knew a lot. Losing against them didn’t feel bad at all; they deserved that,” Gootkin said.
Despite a separation into teams, the competition fosters cooperation among not only students but faculty and outside advisors as well.
“One big aspect is that the competition brings in great collaboration between students and SAMI faculty, including working with Cathleen McConnell from Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium,” coach Matt Lonsdale said.
The format of the competition is a lot like a knowledge bowl, in which teams are quizzed through multiple questions over a six-minute period. The final showdown was intense but there was an air of encouragement from everyone in attendance.
“In the finals, there were eight kids up front being quizzed and there was no one in the room being antagonistic in any way. Everyone was cheering everyone on. Beautiful support of students and their work and all they have accomplished this far,” Lonsdale said. “For me, it has just built a great bond between a lot of the kids and I have seen an incredible growth in each and every one of them. Even though the ‘B Team’ didn’t win, they know so much more than they did before, and I think a lot of them have become a lot closer as friends. I really enjoyed seeing growth in students throughout whole experience.”
While the SAMI “B Team” did not have as much success as the “A Team,” the group of freshmen and sophomores held their own against older, more experienced teams and proved that SAMI would be in good hands in the coming years.
“For every person on the ‘B Team,’ this was their first year doing anything. For that to be their first year, to go out there for this is really scary,” Gootkin said.
“I don’t think any of them would say they did poorly. They were up against some pretty hard teams,” Lonsdale said.
The big advantage to this competition is gaining knowledge about something that affects so much in the state of Washington.
“Its just been great. These students live right next to the sound too. Really having these students understand so much more about their own backyard is really great. Learning more helps them care more and preserve what we have and spread the word about it,” McConnell said
The Orca Bowl was just the first of many events coming up for SAMI in the coming months, including the robotics team competing in regional competition, and other students competing in an envirothon. With the placement of SAMI during the Orca Bowl and plenty of other events coming up, it’s clear the institute is one of the top places of education in the state.