Berkeley Science Bowl

Berkeley Science Bowl (BSB) Invitational Tournament is a STEM trivia competition for high school students resembling the format of the annually hosted National Science Bowl Tournament hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy. Our tournament is designed to prepare high school students with a passion for the sciences for competitions as well as providing an opportunity to explore UC Berkeley for its longstanding excellency in scientific fields. The competition occurs over the course of a weekend; teams of 4 high school students compete against each other on campus in fast-paced head-to-head trivia to earn the title of champion. Additionally, we provide opportunities to learn more about science by hosting notable guest speakers from Berkeley’s faculty and letting students tour the facilities on campus. Currently, we are the only invitational science bowl to take place on the West Coast and we are honored to provide this exciting opportunity for high schoolers to participate in.

Our inaugural tournament, hosted in 2023 saw over 150 competitors with numerous teams from the Bay Area as well as teams from as far as Los Angeles, CA and Irvine, CA. Students competed for a full day and were provided lunch and snacks. The competition consisted of several rounds hosted around many of the campus facilities before we convened for a final single elimination tournament. All questions were designed from scratch by our team of volunteers. Beyond the competition, high school students were ecstatic to hear from a Nobel Laureate keynote speaker: Professor Randy Schekman and tour the Berkeley campus among our other welcoming events. Overall, it was a resounding success with many schools sending 3 or more teams to compete. This past December, we hosted the second Berkeley Science Bowl. This event saw over 200 competitors and was expanded to provide more opportunities for students to engage with the campus. We’re looking forward to hosting the next BSB in Fall 2024!