More than 200 students from high schools across Iowa, and one from Wisconsin, will be in Ames to participate in the seventh annual High School Science Bowl Saturday morning.

The Science Bowl is an intense competition for high school students who have demonstrated skill and interest in science and math. It’s a quiz-bowl-type competition.

Teams of four students tackle questions asked by volunteer moderators, who in real life, are ISU science and engineering graduate students, researchers and professors, as well as educators from the College of Education.

First place winners receive a trophy and the chance to compete in the National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C., also sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Iowa champions for the past three years have been the students from Ames High School.

Saren Johnston, a communications specialist for Ames Lab and co-coordinator of the Science Bowl, said “The kids really have a good time, but they also take it very seriously, and they come here to win.”

“They really are amazing — they have only five seconds after the moderator completes the question to answer, and half the time they answer like lightning before the question is finished,” she said.

Johnston said that Tom Becker, from the Office of Admissions, will be making a follow-up recruitment effort with the participants.

The event is hosted by Ames Laboratory and ISU’s Institute for Physical Research and Technology.

The competition kicks off at 8 a.m. and a presentation will take place at noon in 1002 Gilman Hall by Scott Chumbley, an associate professor of material science.

“Dr. Science” for the day, Chumbley will give a presentation on “Properties of Materials.” During the speech, he asks kids and others from the audience to help him demonstrate electrical, thermal and other properties of materials.