Sixth grader qualifies for state-level GeoBee
April 15, 2020
Sixth grader qualifies for state-level GeoBee
This is the second level of the National Geographic GeoBee competition, which is now in its 32nd year. In December 2019, Ayan was crowned Boyce champion at the school-level competition. To determine each school champion, GeoBee competitions were held in schools throughout the commonwealth with students in the fourth through eighth grades.
School champions were administered an online qualifying test, which was submitted to the National Geographic Society. Up to 100 of the top-scoring students in each state were invited to compete in the State GeoBees.
The state-level competition was originally scheduled for Friday, March 27, 2020, and the 2020 National Championship was set for May 18-21, 2020, at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C. However, both events were canceled due to safety concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our goal with the GeoBee and GeoChallenge is to provide competitions that inspire and reward students' curiosity about the world. That will always remain the North Star for these competitions,” Vicki Phillips, executive vice president and chief education officer at the National Geographic Society, said. “Although we won’t be able to move forward with the next levels of the competition as originally intended, we are immensely proud of our GeoBee and GeoChallenge communities and the inspiration and ingenuity they showcase every day.”
Typically, state champions receive a medal, $1,000 in cash, and other prizes, as well as a trip to Washington, D.C., to represent their state in the National Championship where they compete for additional cash, awards and college scholarships. The second- and third-place State GeoBee winners receive cash awards of $300 and $100, respectively.
National Champion receives a $25,000 college scholarship, $1,000 in cash, a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and an all-expenses-paid Lindblad expedition to the Galápagos Islands aboard the National Geographic Endeavour ll. The second-place finisher receives a $10,000 college scholarship and $1,000 in cash; the student finishing in third place receives a $5,000 college scholarship and $1,000 in cash; and seven runners-up each receive $1,000 in cash.
This year, an estimated 2.4 million students competed in the GeoBee, with 8,661 students becoming school champions. Visit www.natgeobee.org for more information on the National Geographic GeoBee.
