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PADUCAH — The Calloway County Middle School Team 1 secured victory in the middle school portion of the U.S. Department of Energy’s West Kentucky Regional Science Bowl and will be going to Washington D.C. for the DOE’s National Science Bowl.
The team will travel to compete in the DOE’s National Science Bowl finals in Washington D.C., from April 30 to May 4, 2026.
“Calloway County Middle School Team #1 will join McCracken County High School in this year’s DOE National Science Bowl, representing the region in the preeminent STEM academic event in the country,” said Portsmouth Paducah Project Office Interim Active Deputy Manager and Paducah Site Lead April Ladd. “The DOE West Kentucky Regional Science Bowl continues to highlight the remarkable abilities of our region’s students and the incredible commitment of volunteers and coaches who make this an amazing event year-in and year-out.”
Similarly to the high school contest, this regional tournament features a fast-paced, quick-recall quiz. Students are tested on their knowledge of a variety school subjects such as biology, chemistry, Earth and space, energy, mathematics and physics. “I am so proud of our young women and men today on their accomplishment. They have worked so hard all year long,” Calloway County Middle School Team 1 Coach Scott Pile said. “A special thank you to DOE for granting the students of West Kentucky an amazing opportunity to complete and learn every year.”
Also competing in this year’s regional match were Ballard County, Hopkinsville, Christian County, Murray, Graves County, Paducah, Heath, Reidland and St. Mary middle schools from Kentucky as well as Cairo and Massac County middle schools from Illinois. Lone Oak Middle School Team 1 finished second place, and Henderson County North Middle School took third in the regional competition. Around 10,000 students from across the country compete in the national competition, and over 350,000 students have competed since the event began 35 years ago.
Regional Science Bowl Middle School winners
The first place middle school team in the regional tournament received $1,200 for their school, while the runner ups received $600 and $300.
Sponsors for the event included the DOE, the University of Kentucky College of Engineering-Paducah Campus, the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce, Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, Mission Conversion Services Alliance, Swift & Staley Inc., North Wind Dynamics, Petter Business Systems, Bacon Farmer Workman, Beltline Electric Company, Enterprise Technical Assistance Services, Geosyntec, HealthWorks, Fairfield Service Group, Paducah Water, Value Added Solutions, Primo Water, General Matter, Strata-G, Chase Environmental Group, CEO Consultants, and HDR Engineering.
The event is sponsored and organized by the DOE’s PPPO employees and contractors, with over 100 volunteers from the Paducah Site serving as moderators, judges, technical advisors and scorekeepers. The DOE’s Office of Science manages the National Science Bowl finals competition. Additional information can be found on their website.
