National "Battle of the Brains" continues June 25 with academic face off

Golden, Colo., June 24, 2005 - Smith Middle School from Chapel Hill, N.C., captured top place in the model hydrogen fuel cell competition on the first day of the National Middle School Science Bowl.

St. Andrew's Episcopal School, from Amarillo, Texas, took second and Robert Frost Middle School from Rockville, Md., came in third.

The winning teams are among the 24 entries in the National Middle School Science Bowl from around the U.S. The contest is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and General Motors, administered by DOE's Office of Science and hosted by DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory at the Colorado School of Mines.

Winning teams receive trophies and gift certificates from Discovery.com.

Each team was given a fuel cell and plastic fuel tank to construct a model hydrogen fuel cell car, which they built and raced today in the School of Mines' Student Center Intramural parking lot. Building and racing the model cars challenges the students' engineering and design skills.

On Saturday, June 25, the students face off in a fast-paced question-and-answer contest that tests their knowledge of earth science, physical science, life science, math, and general science. The round robin academic competition starts at 8 a.m. at Alderson Hall, 16th and Illinois streets, Golden, and concludes with an awards ceremony at 5 p.m. at the Green Center. The contest is free and open to the public.

More information and photos can be found at .