During five hours of competition, Milton Academy seniors, Henry Roth, Drew Straus, Terence Ryan, Lauren Murphy, Nilton DePina and Captain Jason Post, responded to problems in geology, chemistry, physics, biology, and ecology of the marine environment at the 6th Annual National Oceans Science Bowl (NOSB).

The National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB), inaugurated in 1998, provides an educational forum for students to excel in math and science, generating student interest and excitement about science and the oceans. The NOSB fosters collegiality and teamwork, competition, imaginative thinking and factual recollection. The regional competition held each year at the World Trade Center in Boston is called the Blue Lobster Bowl. Milton Academy students have been involved since its inception.

The Milton team competed against an initial 25 teams from the New England area. Teams are involved in both double- and single-elimination round robin Q & A sessions, involving short answer, problem solving, and team challenge questions. Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution serve as judges and consultants and N.O.S.B. and N.E. Aquarium staff serve as moderators for the competition. The Milton team made it through the first and second rounds and into the Round of 'Elite Eight' teams before succumbing in the late afternoon.

Sponsors of the event include the New England Aquarium, N.A.S.A., National Marine Fisheries Service, N.O.A.A., National Science Foundation, National Sea Grant, The Ocean Conservancy, Office of Naval Research, Sea Education Association, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Weather Service, U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Geological Survey.