As 120 high school students from private and public schools from around the state gather in Honolulu this weekend to test their knowledge in the 14th annual Hawai'i Science Bowl, backers of the event are saying Gov. Linda Lingle's proposal to expand science and technology education is welcome — particularly the idea of bringing more science to younger students.

But they say the effort must come with enough funding to make it succeed, as well as innovative curriculum that builds on young children's natural curiosity.

Earlier this month, Lingle put a price tag of $30 million on a plan that includes new school academies that would specialize in science and technology, a state-backed college scholarship program for science-based graduates, state investments in the life sciences, digital media and music, among other things. The proposal — intended to spur on a new generation of Island scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs — still needs approval by the Legislature.

"It's a good start, but I hope that won't be the end of it," said Hawai'i Science Bowl coordinator Mario Mediati of Honolulu Community College, who has been involved with the annual competition among high schools since it began 13 years ago.

"We'll see how students feel about it and how good a job we can do about making it interesting for the students," Mediati said of the 14 proposed science and technology academies in middle and high schools.

"That's the problem right now. It's not interesting. We haven't grabbed the imagination of the students to make them see the potential of what they could do," said Mediati, who teaches at HCC's Pacific Center for Advanced Technology Training.

Mediati's own interest in science was piqued in fifth grade when the teacher created a competition in aerodynamics using paper airplanes. Since the early 1990s when the Science Bowl began, he has seen a steady but small cadre of students excited about science pass through the competition.

With Lingle's initiative, however, he hopes to see more students joining the teams from 23 high schools who face off for the annual bowl, pitting their knowledge of chemistry, physics, biology, geology, computer science and math against one another. Lingle is expected to be the surprise guest at the round-robin competition held at the Kapalama Multimedia Conference Center at Honolulu Community College.

Similar in concept to the National Spelling Bee, the Hawai'i Science Bowl sends the winning team on to national competition each year and can be a catalyst in launching students toward top colleges or careers in science.

"The alumni of the Science Bowl go on to places like MIT, Cal Tech, Berkeley, Stanford," said Don Bourassa, an HCC physics professor who served as bowl coordinator since the event's debut, but turned the reins over to Mediati this year.

Bourassa said Lingle's hope of "putting an emphasis on science and technology in the high schools certainly would raise the awareness of the students and show them this is something that could be a viable career."

Ed Ginoza, a retired teacher from Maui High School who has coached the school's highly successful state science bowl and ocean science bowl teams for years — even after retirement — said the Lingle's initiative will help, "especially if there's money that goes with it."

"A lot of times we need more emphasis on sciences at an early age," Ginoza said. "And we need more integration of the sciences with mathematics instead of teaching them as separate topics."

Nathaniel Salazar, a 17-year-old senior at Maui High, who is returning to the Science Bowl for the third time, knows science will be part of his future. Already accepted to four colleges, he's holding out for acceptance letters from Cornell, the University of Rochester and the University of Michigan, which are his top choices to study electrical engineering.

Salazar said he has loved science since he was a 7-year-old watching "The Magic School Bus" and "Bill Nye, the Science Guy," on television.

"Those were my favorite shows when I was little," Salazar said. "They were interesting and interactive and they got me interested."

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com.