Spoonbill Volunteers

Volunteers who join the event each year are from the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, USGS Coastal & Marine Science Center, NOAA Fisheries, Florida Marine Science Educators Association, Florida Sea Grant, Duke Energy, USF Marine Science, USFSP, Eckerd College, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Florida Aquarium, Mote Marine Labs & Aquarium, Lowry Park Zoo, Oceanography Camp for Girls Alumnae and Ocean Optics.

Follow the links below for details on Volunteer Roles including, Moderators, Science Judges, Rules Judges, Scorekeepers, Timekeepers, Runners and Expert Science Judges.

- One of 25 regional NOSB Sites

- Sponsored by Consortium for Oceanographic Leadership

- 1-day academic bowl focusing on disciplines in oceanography

- Teams of 5 High School students compete for regional title

- Regional winners move on to advance to the National Competition in April

Who: Teams of 4 students, an alternate, and a coach from high schools from along the west-central coast of Florida.

What: The Spoonbill Bowl consists of a round-robin and single-elimination formats for teams of high school students. The format involves a timed competition of multiple-choice or short-answer questions within the broad category of the oceans. Questions are drawn from the scientific and technical disciplines used in studying the oceans (physics, chemistry, geology, atmospheric science, biology, etc.) as well as topics on the contributions of the oceans to national and international economics, history and culture.

Where: USF College of Marine Science, University of South Florida St. Petersburg, and Florida Marine Research Institute. Click here to view USF St. Petersburg Map

Why: The goals of this competition are to have fun while increasing understanding about the oceans, advancing ocean literacy, and raising the visibility of ocean-related research.