While most students were at school Oct. 27, Marianne Aldrich ’19, Angela Cai ’19, Kennedy Ortmeier ’19, Aditi Jithendra ’18, Jimmy Le ’18, Nicole Hobson ’17, Justin Hu ’17, Alexis Pottebaum ’17 and Nathan Zoss ’17 were at the Ankeny DMACC campus competing in the Knowledge Bowl finals.

Knowledge Bowl is an academic quiz-like competition. “I always compare it to Jeopardy, but less high stakes,” Marianne Aldrich ’19 said. Teams of five students try to answer questions in a written round and several oral rounds. Johnston brought two teams. At the end of all the rounds, the three teams with the highest scores move on to a championship round in front of all the other teams.

The written round is a multiple-choice exam taken by each team as a whole. The oral round involves three teams per room. A reader presents the questions, and a team member may buzz in as soon as he or she chooses. No team is eliminated, and every team participates in every round. “You get to work with other people who are also interested in knowing things,” Sue Cline, AP World History teacher and knowledge bowl supervisor, said. “I always learn stuff just by listening and hearing the questions so if you’re interested in learning, there’s a bonus.”

Although neither of Johnston’s teams placed or qualified for the championship round, the students competing had a good time. “It was an interesting experience even though we didn’t win,” Nathan Zoss ’17 said. “I’m glad I did it. It was a great experience and a lot of fun.”