Hawai'i teams seek academic titles today

By Karen Blakeman and Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writers

Two Hawai'i high school teams made it into the final rounds of national academic competitions this weekend and vie for top spots today.

A Kahuku High School team is among the final 10 competing on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, and tries for first place on Capitol Hill today.

A team of high school students from Iolani School made it into the top 16 in the 2004 National Science Bowl. They compete for first standing in Maryland today.

Students in the program "We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution" give four-minute presentations in response to topic questions on constitutional issues, then respond to followup questions by a panel of judges.

A typical overview question might be: "How are (philosopher John) Locke's ideas about natural rights incorporated into the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution?"

Meanwhile, the Iolani students, who made it into the final round of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Science Bowl, won $1,000 for the schools' science department, said bowl spokeswoman Sue Walpole. She said Iolani represented Hawai'i among the 64 teams that made it to the nation competition.

Questions might include: What is the distance from the sun to the center of the Milky Way galaxy? (8,600 parsecs).

Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.