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A couple weeks after winning the Regional Science Bowl competition, members of Harker School's championship team were at a loss to explain their victory.
Harker's team beat out Albany High School in the bowl, held Feb. 28 at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The win was especially surprising since Albany has won multiple regional competitions in the past, while last year Harker was eliminated in the first round.
"I guess we just learned more," said Lev Pisarsky, 17, a Sunnyvale resident who competed both this year and last.
Harker's team will advance to the national championships, set for April 29May 3 in Washington, D.C.
Science-bowl competitors must answer questions in various areas of science and math. The questions are submitted by scientists from the Department of Energy and other federal agencies, as well as university staff. Lev said the subjects they cover are "pretty random."
"Some are just a test of how fast you can buzz in, whereas some test your knowledge," he added.
In last month's competition, Lev managed to answer one multiple-choice question correctly before he had even heard it read. He said the team devoted a couple of its Friday-afternoon practice sessions to increasing its collective speed in hitting the buzzer.
Team coach Robbie Korin, who teaches science at the private San Jose high school, said being quick to buzz in was instrumental in Harker's science-bowl win.
"These students are fearless," Korin added. "They're not afraid to be wrong, and that's the key. It's a very bright, confident group who are willing to push the buzzer. Some kids are book smart, but they hesitate to hit the buzzer."
Some Harker team members honed their game-show skills by making regular appearances on Quiz Kids, a show produced by KRON-TV that tests students' general knowledge.
"Quiz Kids has much more to do with speed and early anticipation, whereas the science bowl requires scientific knowledge," Lev said.
Harker used its combined speed and knowledge to beat out 15 other science-bowl teams in the regional competition. At the national level, they'll face teams from 65 other high schools.
The federal Department of Energy developed the National Science Bowl in 1991 to encourage high school students to excel in math and science and to pursue careers in these fields.
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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer