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This story was corrected on Nov. 6, 2009. An explanation of the correction is at the end of the story.

A quiz bowl competition became a White House affair Thursday when First Lady Michelle Obama doled out questions in an unofficial match between two Washington metropolitan-area middle schools.

National Science Bowl teams from Takoma Park Middle School and Landover's Kenmoor Middle School competed at the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C.

Obama and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu read questions, such as what organelle carries out cellular respiration in human cells, to students during the eight-minute competition. Ten students competed.

The National Science Bowl is a national quiz bowl competition sponsored by the Department of Energy. This year's competition will be held in April and May at the National 4-H Conference Center in Chevy Chase.

Obama visited the department as an effort to visit all federal agencies and their employees to offer her appreciation for the work they do in running the country, she told the audience before the competition. She said she intended to visit the department earlier in the year, but her husband, President Barack Obama, who visited employees in February, went instead.

"I was supposed to be here earlier but this other guy bumped me out of the scene," Obama said, smiling. "I try not to take it personally."

Takoma Park Middle School made it to the National Science Bowl competition in 2008 and in May. Kenmoor Middle made it to national competition in 2007.

"We knew that these were teams that competed in the past," said Stephanie Mueller, a Department of Education spokeswoman. "We basically reached out and saw if they wanted a chance to practice."

Obama said there are 20,000 students among 1,800 schools nationwide that participate in the National Science Bowl. More than 100 Department of Energy employees help run the national championship in May, and more than 6,000 volunteers help run regional competitions across the nation, she added.

There are 36 middle school and 60 high school teams that participate in Maryland, said Jeff Sherwood, a Department of Energy spokesman.

Obama applauded the Department of Energy for encouraging youth to pursue science and math careers and commended students who put in long hours and work nights to prepare for competition. She said the competition breeds not only knowledge but also discipline.

"I know my kids," Obama said. "There's nothing like a little competition to get them going."

Though the match was unofficial, Takoma Park beat Kenmoor, 64-46.

Takoma Park eighth-grader Avikar Periwal, 13, of Potomac said he was nervous at first but his nerves flew away once he stepped onstage.

"It was sort of like a normal science bowl match," Avikar said. "It was just shorter."

Kenmoor eighth-grader Vishnu Rachakonda, 13, of Glenn Dale said he was a "little bit" nervous. "But after, I think it was Mrs. Obama who cracked the first joke, I felt better," Vishnu said.

E-mail Natalie McGill at nmcgill@gazette.net.

Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled the name of one of the students from Takoma Park; it is Avikar Periwal.