The line in the basement hallway of the US Department of Energy stretched interminably. “What’s this line for?” asked one DOE employee. “Is everyone going to the gym or something?”

Nope. The bomb-sniffing dogs and Secret Service made it clear that the line was to see First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama, a figure so popular that the DOE had to give its employees tickets through a lottery.

Making her 13th visit to a federal agency, Obama joined Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Thursday in a tightly packed, 200-person basement DOE auditorium for a mock quiz of 10 middle schoolers who would compete next year in the National Science Bowl, an outreach effort run by DOE. Chu said that Obama was helping him with one of his highest priorities: “elevating the social status of nerds everywhere.”

After a quick pep talk to the career civil service employees, Obama got ready to start peppering the kids with questions. “We’re all set. I’m Alex Trebek,” said Obama. “Secretary Chu is like my Vanna White.”

And the two leaders jumped into a 14 minute round of hard-fought science trivia. “Cellular respiration in human cells is carried out mostly by what organelle?” asked Obama. Beeeeep! Catherine Xue, from Takoma Park, Maryland, buzzed in. “Mitochondria?” she asked timidly. “Correct,” said Chu. Xue exchanged a fist bump with her team captain, Avikar Periwal.

Chu seemed to take pleasure when the budding scientists nailed a question, but winced when one team incorrectly guessed that nuclear power comprises only 5% of the US energy budget. The other team quickly got the answer right: 20%. “Correct,” said Chu with a wry smile. If he gets his way, that answer could change — Chu is hoping that DOE funding will help launch a new generation of nuclear reactors.

Image: Ken Shipp / DOE Photo