Daniel Katz wins State Level National Geographic Bee
On Friday, April 4, student geography whizzes across the
United States and U.S. territories participated in state-level
Geographic Bees, competing for spots in May’s national
competition. The Bee is organized by the National Geographic
Society. This year Rhode Island state finalists competed at
Rhode Island College. This year’s state level winner is Daniel
Katz, 7th grader, of the Jewish Community Day
School. Katz’s teacher, Lisa Bergman, said, "This student
truly deserves this honor, he has been passionate about the
study of geography and has shared his passion with his
classmates for years now, he’s a lot like having a live
Nordstrom Atlas in the classroom!"
Up to 100 fourth-to eighth graders in each of the 50
states, District of Columbia, U.S. territories and Department
of Defense Dependents Schools qualified for the state Bees.
Each state winner will receive $100, a National Geographic
globe and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for
the national finals on May 20-21 and the chance to be crowned
National Geographic Bee champion.
First prize in the national competition is a $25,000
college scholarship and lifetime membership in the National
Geographic Society. Second- and third-place finishers will
receive $15,000 and $10,000 college scholarships.
John Fahey, president of the National Geographic Society,
said, "In our constantly evolving world, geographic fluency is
more important than ever in helping young people put events
and places in context. National Geographic is committed to
geography education and to helping young people understand and
appreciate the world they live in, so that they can become
informed and responsible caretakers of the planet."
The state Bees are the second level of the annual National
Geographic Bee. The first level began last November with
contests in almost 14,000 U.S. schools, in which millions of
students participated. The championship round of the National
Geographic Bee — moderated by "Jeopardy!" quiz show host Alex
Trebek for the 20th year — will be held at National
Geographic’s Washington, D.C., headquarters on Wednesday, May
21, and will air that day nationally on the National
Geographic Channel. Produced by National Geographic
Television, the finals also will be broadcast later on public
television stations. Check local listings for viewing dates
and times.
The National Geographic Society developed the National
Geographic Bee in 1989 in response to concern about the lack
of geographic knowledge among young people in the United
States. The problem is not yet resolved. A National
Geographic-Roper Public Affairs 2006 Geographic Literacy Study
showed that Americans aged 18 to 24 still had limited
understanding of the world within and beyond our country’s
borders. Even after Hurricane Katrina, one-third could not
locate Louisiana, and almost half could not locate Mississippi
on a U.S. map. Only four out of 10 were able to find Iraq on a
map of the Middle East.
The National Geographic Society is one of the world's
largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations.
Founded in 1888 to "increase and diffuse geographic
knowledge," the Society works to inspire people to care about
the planet. It reaches more than 300 million people worldwide
each month through its official journal, National Geographic,
and other magazines; National Geographic Channel; television
documentaries; music; radio; films; books; DVDs; maps; school
publishing programs; interactive media; and merchandise.
National Geographic has funded more than 8,800 scientific
research, conservation and exploration projects and supports
an education program combating geographic illiteracy. For more
information, visit www.nationalgeographic.com.
