Fourth Grader Nicolas H. in State Geo Bee

Later, Shorecrest learned that Nicolas qualified to compete in the state level competition of the National Geographic Bee! Florida State Bee was held Friday, April 1, 2016. School champions take a qualifying test, which gets submitted to the National Geographic Society. Up to 100 of the top-scoring students in each of the 50 states, District of Columbia, Department of Defense Dependents Schools and U.S. territories compete in the state Bees. 

After a very exciting yet stressful day of preliminary rounds at the Florida State Bee, Nicolas was eliminated after answering 7 out of his 8 questions correctly. Only those contestants who answered all of their questions correctly advanced to the final round of ten, to then compete to be the Florida State Geo Bee champion. It was still a rewarding learning experience for Nicolas!

One champion from each state and territory will receive $100, the National Geographic book “The National Parks: An Illustrated History” and a medal, and will journey to Washington, D.C., to represent their state in the National Geographic Bee Championship at National Geographic Society headquarters, May 22-25, 2016.  The national champion will receive a $50,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society. 

How would you fare as a Bee contestant? At the school Bees this year, students had to answer such questions as:

To fish in Lake Winnipesaukee [wi-neh-peh-SAW-kee] and ski near Franconia Notch, you would travel to which state—New Hampshire or South Dakota?
New Hampshire

Visitors to Biscayne National Park in Florida can go fishing and lobstering along the shore of which kind of habitat—mangrove or desert?
Mangrove

Sea kayakers can explore hundreds of islands off the Dalmatian coast of which European country south of Slovenia? Croatia For centuries, the Chinese emperors lived in seclusion in the Forbidden City, which is located within what present-day city?
Beijing