The Kansas City Plant and Honeywell always send the top two Kansas City Regional Science Bowl teams to the national competition. This year, the first place team is from Blue Valley West. And the second place team is from Blue Valley West. The A and B teams from the science powerhouse school battled throughout the day on Saturday, Feb. 6, and when the dust finally settled, the winning teams were from the same high school.

The two champions were among 75 teams represented schools from Missouri and Kansas who competed in the nation’s largest regional science competition. Some students, traveling from as far away as St. Louis, had slept on the long bus ride to Rockhurst. Some didn’t represent a bricks-and-mortar high school, but created their own identity, as the Homeschool Science Nerds did. Many students were nervous and excited. All showed a remarkable understanding of chemistry, geology, physics, biology, electronics, mathematics, and more as they competed through several rounds of the science-focused contests.

By the end of the championship round, the top two teams from Blue Valley West had defeated all comers. The two teams of friends, rivals, and classmates will travel to Washington, D.C., to compete in the national Science Knowledge Bowl April 29 through May 4.

This was the for the 26th annual regional Science Bowl competition in Kansas City, held at Rockhurst University and cosponsored by Honeywell and the Kansas City Site Office.

Congratulations to all the students who participated, and especially to these two teams who will represent our region in the nationals.

Thanks to the many employees who volunteer to make this worthy effort a success serving as moderators, timekeepers, and scorekeepers, as well as in the many other roles required for such a large event.

Support for the Science Bowl is an important piece of Honeywell’s and the NNSA’s effort to promote science, math, and technology education in order to keep America technologically competitive and to stoke the pipeline with future employees.