National Geographic Bee Moves to State Level

Jennifer Vernon
for National Geographic News

April 2, 2004

Find out who the National Geographic Bee state-level competition winners are, and test your geographic knowledge with ten questions from the state competitions.

In states and territories across the United States, today marks the date of the annual state-level National Geographic Bee competitions. Winners from this round—one from each state or territory—will advance to the National Geographic Bee finals to be held at headquarters in Washington, D.C., on May 25 and 26.

Now in its 16th year, the National Geographic Bee has become the second largest academic competition in the country, drawing from nearly 16,000 schools nationwide. Only the National Spelling Bee has more student participants.

For the fourth through eighth graders participating in the Geographic Bees, the hardest work of all may lie in the challenge of competing. However, for the people behind the scenes—local teachers, state Bee coordinators, and National Geographic staff—the real work began many months ago.

Beyond Trivia

To hold a Bee, there must be questions—but not just any questions will do. The process actually starts the preceding summer with a team of teachers. They write initial questions which are submitted to National Geographic's Geography Competitions department. This pool is vigorously fact-checked and edited, and approved questions are then submitted to a panel of geographers for two rounds of final review.

A major challenge is coming up with questions that are difficult but fair, said Chelsea Zillmer, manager/editor for Geography Competitions. One question that was discarded in the past, for example, was "How many counties are there in Ireland?"

"That's just like asking, How many jellybeans are there in a jar?" Zillmer explained. "It's not really important information to know."

To make that particular question a strong one, it would need to tie into the history or culture of a particular county and might give clues that would lead to a major city or some other feature "we would expect students to know," Zillmer said. "That would be important information and what we would consider fair."

Rote memorization of facts or trivia is not the goal of the competition, agreed Mary Lee Elden, long-time director of the Bee. "The writers put in relevant clues so that even if it does go for a one-word answer, the clues make it so that you know why it's relevant to know that information."

Questions are designed to explore all facets of geography—historical, physical, cultural, and economic. The goal, Zillmer said, is to create global citizens. "It's looking at all the different pieces that make up our world … not just knowing the longest river or the tallest mountain. It's trying to really look at everything in context."

No Small Task

Writing solid questions is not the only concern facing the Geography Competitions staff each year. "There are things in running a contest … behind the scenes that people normally don't think about," Elden said.

Every effort is made to accommodate special needs, from enlarging visuals to 20 feet by 20 feet (6 meters by 6 meters) for a visually-impaired student to making an interpreter available for a participant's hearing-impaired father. In one instance, a state Bee location was moved to respect a participant's religious beliefs.

Even choosing the date of the state competition is done carefully to avoid potential conflicts with religious or cultural observances.

The ultimate goal of the Geography Competitions staff is "making sure that everybody is comfortable in the competition and that they have what they need to succeed," explained Elden.

A Wide Network

Outside the Geographic, the Bee's foundation rests on the schools that register to participate each year and the teachers who volunteer their time to run these local competitions. Registration occurs in the fall, with participating schools later receiving Bee kits. These specially designed kits explain how to conduct a school bee and contain all materials needed to hold one.

With the typical teacher stretched thin with paperwork and other school-related commitments, what motivates some to take on yet one more responsibility? "The teachers tell us they delight in their students' curiosity about the world and how excited they get about participating in the Bee," Elden said.

The next step is for school winners to take a written exam that is sent back to Geography Competitions for evaluation. The top 100 scorers in each state are extended invitations to compete at the state level representing their schools. Winners from each state then advance to the finals held in Washington.

Winners All Around

Because of the multiple tiers of evaluation, the national finalists "really are the best and brightest," Zillmer said.

Yet all participants are to be commended, Elden said. "If a child is willing to stand up and to show what they know or they don't know—or at least try—parents and teachers should reward that effort, because just trying counts for a lot."

It is this philosophy that Elden shares each year with the families of the national finalists. "I explain to the national parents that there's only going to be one person that walks away with the top prize but that all their children are winners in our eyes."

In line with that philosophy are the ways in which participants are recognized at each stage. At the local level, all participants and each school receive certificates and the school winner is awarded a medal. Those who make it to the state level receive certificates and t-shirts, as do those who advance to the national competition.

Curiosity is Key

For the three top national finishers, a very special prize is reserved for each: a college scholarship.

The first place award is U.S. $25,000, with $15,000 to going to second place and $10,000 to third. National winners have ten years from their high school graduation date to use the money, which is placed in an interest-bearing account by the Geographic. Because many Bee winners often receive other college scholarships, some have applied it instead to offset graduate school costs.

All three scholarships and costs for the Bee are provided by National Geographic in partnership with 2004 corporate Bee sponsor ING, a financial services company.

In looking at past winners, Elden said, the one thing they have in common is their avid curiosity about the world around them. "The kids that do well read all the time anyway … These are the type of kids that if they read the newspaper and see a place that is unknown to them, they'll go to a map or an atlas and look it up."

"It's not that they're spending their whole lives studying geography to win the Bee," Elden remarked. "And we don't encourage that … It's mainly to encourage knowledge of the world around you, not to win the contest."

For more National Geographic Bee news, scroll down for related stories and links.