Top Geography Students to Test Skills at 05 National Geographic State Bees on March 7

WASHINGTON (March 17, 2015)-On Friday, March 27, young geography whizzes across the United States and U.S. territories will participate in state Bees, competing for a spot in the 27th annual National Geographic Bee championship in Washington, D.C., on May 11-13. Organized by the National Geographic Society, the 2015 National Geographic Bee is sponsored by Google. The state Bees are also sponsored by Plum Creek.

Up to 100 fourth- to eighth-graders in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. Atlantic and Pacific territories and Department of Defense Dependents Schools have qualified for the state Bees, which are the second level of the annual National Geographic Bee. The first level began last November when millions of students participated in contests at thousands of schools around the United States and in the five U.S. territories.

The National Geographic Society will provide an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for state champions to participate in the National Geographic Bee championship in May. The national champion will receive a $50,000 college scholarship; lifetime membership in the Society, which includes a lifetime subscription to National Geographic magazine; and a trip to the Gal pagos Islands, courtesy of Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic. Second- and third-place finishers will receive $25,000 and $10,000 college scholarships, respectively.

National Geographic Society President and CEO Gary Knell said, National Geographic believes in the power of science, exploration and storytelling to change the world. Through experiences like the National Geographic Bee, we are teaching students about the world and how it works, empowering them to succeed and to make it a better place.

Jennifer Fitzpatrick, vice president of engineering, Google Earth and Maps, said, The National Geographic Bee provides students with a unique opportunity to showcase their knowledge about the world around them. Our teams at Google are thrilled that young minds across the globe are using Google Earth as an educational tool to deepen their understanding of both natural and human geography. Over the past several years, the competition has demonstrated the power of technology to foster learning and inspire future generations, and we're proud to sponsor the program again this year.

The National Geographic Bee is an outstanding program that expands students' knowledge of people, places and events around the world, turning today's competitors into tomorrow's leaders, said Bob Jirsa, president, Plum Creek Foundation. Education is one of the focal points of the Plum Creek Foundation, so we're pleased to continue our partnership with the National Geographic Bee to sponsor state Bees across the United States and U.S. territories.

The national championship preliminary rounds will take place on Monday, May 11, in Washington, D.C. The national championship final rounds featuring the top 10 finalists and moderated by award-winning journalist Soledad O'Brien will be held on Wednesday, May 13, at National Geographic's Washington, D.C., headquarters. National Geographic Channel will air the final round of the National Geographic Bee Championship at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Friday, May 15. It will be aired later on public television stations; check local television listings for dates and times.

Everyone can test their geography knowledge with the exciting GeoBee Challenge, an online geography quiz at www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee, which poses 10 new questions a day. A further 1,000 questions culled from past Bees can be accessed on the National Geographic GeoBee Challenge app, available on the App Store for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad; from the Android Market; or for NOOK Color.

Note to Editors: 2015 National Geographic Bee press resources can be found at http://press.nationalgeographic.com/geo-bee/.

About the National Geographic Society

With a mission to inspire, illuminate and teach, the National Geographic Society is one of the world's largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. The member-supported Society, which believes in the power of science, exploration and storytelling to change the world, reaches over 600 million people each month through its media platforms, products and events. National Geographic has funded more than 11,000 research, conservation and exploration projects, and its education programs promote geographic literacy. For more information, visit www.nationalgeographic.com, and find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

About Plum Creek

Plum Creek is one of the largest and most geographically diverse private landowners in the nation with more than 6 million acres of timberlands in major timber producing regions of the United States and wood products manufacturing facilities in the Northwest. For more information, visit www.plumcreek.com.

LINK:	http://press.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/17/geography-students-test...
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