The 2014 West Virginia Geographic Bee will be held on the Athens campus of Concord University Friday, April 4. Approximately 55 students from cities and towns across The Mountain State will compete for the opportunity to represent West Virginia at the 26th annual National Geographic Bee being held in Washington, D.C. May 19-21.
After the preliminary rounds have been conducted, a tie breaker round will be held if needed at approximately 2:30 p.m. in the main theater of the Alexander Fine Arts Center.
The final competition and championship round will then be held in the main theater. The top three finishers will be recognized at the conclusion of the championship round.
The state Bees are the second level of the annual National Geographic Bee. The first level began last November with contests in nearly 12,000 U.S. schools, in which millions of students participated.
While youngsters are competing at Concord on April 4, other students in grades four through eight will participate in state Bees in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. Atlantic and Pacific territories and Department of Defense Dependents Schools that same day. Winners of these state competitions will advance to the national event.
This is the fourth year the West Virginia Geographic Bee has been held at Concord University. Previously, the event was held in Charleston, W.Va.
Linda Poff, Concord adjunct instructor in geography, is coordinator of West Virginia’s state Bee. A graduate of Concord, Poff is also a retired Mercer County teacher.
National Geographic developed the National Geographic Bee in 1989 in response to concern about the lack of geographic knowledge among young people in the United States. Organized by the National Geographic Society, this year’s Geographic Bee is sponsored by Google Inc. At the state level, the Bee is also sponsored by Plum Creek.
Each state winner will receive $100 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the national finals in May and the chance to be crowned the 26th National Geographic Bee champion.
First prize in the national competition is a $50,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society. Second- and third-place finishers receive $25,000 and $10,000 college scholarships, respectively.
Additionally, the national winner will travel (with one parent or guardian), all expenses paid, to the Galápagos Islands to experience geography firsthand through up-close encounters with the wildlife and landscapes of the islands on an expedition aboard the National Geographic Endeavour. Travel for the Galápagos voyage is provided by Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic.
The top 10 national finalists for 2014 along with next year’s top 10 will be eligible for selection for the three-person team to represent the United States at the National Geographic World Championship in July 2015 in Stockholm, Sweden.
Visit www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/ for additional information on the National Geographic Bee. Visitors to the site can hone their geography skills with the GeoBee Challenge game at www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/quiz/today/
