I had no idea there was such an event: The National Geographic Bee.
Since 1989, the National Geographic Society has been hosting a Geographic Bee for students. First the students compete in their classroom or homeschooling group. One winner per classroom/group. Then the classroom winners go on to compete at the school level. One winner per school / homeschooling group. That winner will then take a written test, with the top 100 scores going to the State level Geographic Bee. One state winner will go on to national.
My daughter won her classroom round and this week participated in our school level competition. Many of these questions I could easily answer. But I have to admit, many of them, I just shook my head, thinking "I have no idea." Good thing Google is a co-sponsor of the Bee, as we relied heavily on the Internet to verify answers.
While my daughter was eliminated after the end of the third round, it was a great experience for her.
She can stand up in front of a crowd - in this case her school peers - with confidence. She picked up some geography knowledge that she otherwise would not have known and we were able to interact together to look up answers and facts.
Congratulations to Nathan Ford, the Ezard Elementary 2008/2009 National Geographic Bee winner. (Conway MO)
Here are a few questions for the preliminary competition study guide:
Are you smarter than a 6th grade Geography student?
1. Which present day state did the Oregon Trail pass through? Wyoming or New Mexico
2. Which state is located in New England? New Hampshire or Delaware
3. Which state has more national parks? Utah or Missouri
4. Which state has a longer shoreline along Lake Erie? Pennsylvania or Ohio
5. Which state receives more annual precipitation? North Dakota or Oregon
6. The Blue Mountains run through parts of Washington and which other state? California or Oregon
7. To visit Ankara's Mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk, you would travel to which country located just north of Syria?
8. To ride on the region's first subway system, in Tashkent, you would travel to which Central Asian country?
9. To see ships loading and unloading goods in Riga, a major port on the Baltic Sea, you would travel to which European country?
10. To stand inside Georgetown's cathedral, one of the world's tallest freestanding wood buildings, you would travel to the capital of which South American country?
11. To visit the highest national capital in the world you would travel to what landlocked country in South America?
12. To visit important Buddhist monuments near the Mekong River you would travel to which Asian country?
An important side note: Geography receives NO federal funding. While geography is a required subject in our schools, the No Child Left Behind Act does not fund this subject. We typically hear about those subjects that do receive funding: reading, math, science, teaching American history and foreign language assistance programs.
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