TOWN OF TONAWANDA — Four students from Saint Christopher’s School flew to Washington, D.C., on Thursday to compete for championship titles in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 20th annual National Science Bowl. Students from the Town of Tonawanda school also will have the opportunity to meet First Lady Michelle Obama when she asks the championship round bonus point questions on Monday.

She will join Energy Secretary Steven Chu in addressing the more than 500 high school and middle school students attending from 42 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Local eighth-graders Joe Suhay, Joe Lorenc, T.J. DellaZilla and Brian Balthasar, along with junior high science teacher Celeste Samcarzza, began the competition this morning in the National 4-H Conference Center against the 37 other participating middle school teams.

They earned the trip by winning a regional competition in March. A fifth member of the winning team, Thomas Brummer, was unable to go to Washington because of family obligations.

“Our school has participated and won the competition for the past five years. It is a very exciting experience, especially since it is mainly different children each year who participate,” Samcarzza said.

Today, the students are being quizzed on a range of science disciplines including biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, astronomy and math. Sunday, the middle school teams are scheduled to race the model solar cars that they designed and built in the National Building Museum, competing to win a 4-foot tall trophy.

“This whole experience is really new to me. We have been studying the packets of past tests since January, so I am really excited to begin,” DellaZilla said.

To make the most of the trip, the students and Samcarzza spent Friday afternoon touring the city’s monuments as they participated in a photo scavenger hunt organized by the staff and volunteers of the Department of Energy.

The weekend’s endeavors are sponsored by the Department of Energy to encourage students to direct their talents towards careers in science and mathematics. The National Science Bowl is the nation’s largest academic competition of its kind.

“America and the world need the best scientists and engineers to help solve many of the important problems of our time,” Chu said.

Prizes include $1,000 for their school’s science programs, and an all-expense-paid research trip for the high school champion to study the ecosystems of Belize in Central America.

Back in March, the Canisius College American Chemical Society ran the regional competition at St. Joe’s Collegiate Institute for the chance to compete in this weekend’s activities.

The students are scheduled to fly back to Buffalo on Monday.