Arlington Heights student makes state bee semifinals
Zachary Evans, an eighth-grade student at St. James School in Arlington Heights, has been notified by the National Geographic Society that he is one of the semifinalists eligible to compete in the 2015 Illinois National Geographic State Bee, sponsored by Google and Plum Creek. The contest will be held Friday, March 27, at the Turner Conference Center at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn.
This is the second level of the National Geographic Bee competition, which is now in its 27th year. School bees were held in schools with fourth- through eighth-grade students throughout the state to determine each school champion. School champions then took a qualifying test, which they submitted to the National Geographic Society.
The National Geographic Society has invited 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 to compete in the state bees.
Each state champion will receive $100, the "National Geographic Atlas of the World, 10th Edition," a medal, and a trip to Washington, D.C., to represent their state in the National Geographic Bee Championship to be held at National Geographic Society headquarters, May 11-13. The national champion will receive a $50,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the society.
The national champion will also travel (along with one parent or guardian), all expenses paid, to the Galápagos Islands, where he/she will experience geography firsthand through up-close encounters with the islands' unique wildlife and landscapes. Travel for the trip is provided by Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic.
Visit www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee for more information on the National Geographic Bee.
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 information, visit www.nationalgeographic.com.
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