Forty-one Montgomery County students will compete in the Maryland National Geographic State Bee on March 31. Local participants are: Rohit Das, 4th grade, Bells Mill Elementary School; Ethan Podberesky, 7th grade, Cabin John Middle School; Maya Siegal, 5th grade, Cold Spring Elementary School; Alex Klyce, 7th grade, Herbert Hoover Middle School; Divya Devarkonda, 6th grade, Holton-Arms School; Ainsley Gabti, 7th grade, Norwood School; Amy Zhai, 8th grade, Thomas W Pyle Middle School; and Alexander Mehta, 7th grade, Washington Episcopal School.
Maryland Public Television (MPT) will air a one-hour recorded broadcast of the final round of the Maryland National Geographic State Bee on Saturday, April 8, at 7 p.m. on MPT-HD.
The state qualifying event for the 29th Annual National Geographic Bee takes place on Friday, March 31, at MPT’s Owings Mills studios.
Students who won their individual school bees earlier this year took a qualifying test to determine their state-level eligibility. Approximately 100 Maryland students, grades four through eight, will compete for a place in the national event in Washington, D.C., on May 14 - 17. Twenty four students from last year’s Maryland bee are returning for 2017, including five of last year’s finalists.
State bee champions receive $100, the National Geographic Concise Atlas of the World, 4th Edition and a medal, and will represent his or her state in the championship round in May. Last year’s Maryland state champion, Rishi Kumar from Ellicott City, was among 10 finalist at the 2016 national competition.
MPT will air the National Geographic Bee on MPT-HD at noon on Saturday, May 27. At 11 a.m. MPT will rebroadcast the Maryland state bee.
The National Geographic Bee was founded in 1989. The contest is designed to encourage teachers to include geography in their classrooms, spark student interest in the subject, and increase public awareness about geography.