GeoBee Challenges Young Scholars

GeoBee Challenges Young Scholars
Posted on 02/19/2019
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For the 31st year, the National Geographic Society is holding its National Geographic GeoBee for fourth- through eighth-grade students in thousands of schools across the nation. Te GeoBee is an annual competition designed to inspire and reward students’ curiosity about the world. Te event includes three levels of competition: school, state, and national. 

Within the Wyomissing Area School District, West Reading Elementary Center and Wyomissing Area Junior Senior High School both participated in the 2019 GeoBee. At the junior high school level, the GeoBee was won by an eighth-grade student, Tim Reilly. Also in eighth-grade, Owen Holst was the first runner-up, followed by Peter Folga in third place. The following students finished in the top 10: Bryce Butler, Addie Cohen, Katie Kaufmann, Cassie Minich, Oliver Rex, Ryan Rothermel, and Joe Snyder. 

At West Reading Elementary Center, sixth-grade student Derek Macrina won the GeoBee. 

To qualify for the school-level GeoBee, students took a written qualifying test. Students with the top 15 to 20 scores earned the opportunity to compete. To prepare, students were given a list of websites, including National Geographic.com, to study. 

Typical GeoBee questions ask students to identify states by location or by statistics such as the chief products a state produces. For example, “Which state lies directly south of Missouri: Arkansas or Iowa?” And “Which state is a major producer of soybeans in the U.S.: Washington or Illinois?” 

As a result of their wins, Tim and Derek will advance to the next level of competition, a written examination that will determine state-level competitors. All school winners are eligible to compete for the national championship and its first prize, a $50,000 college scholarship. The national competition will be held in Washington, D.C. Best of luck to Tim and Derek as they attempt to earn a trip to Harrisburg to compete in the Pennsylvania State GeoBee.