The 2016 California Geographic State Bee from 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Friday, April 1, at Fresno State will draw 100 students from throughout the state to compete for a chance to represent California at the national level later this spring.
Only the tiebreaking and final rounds from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. are open to the public at no charge (parking is $3 for a day permit from dispensers in the parking lot).
The annual state competitions are being held that day throughout the nation and California’s will be in Fresno at the Satellite Student Union for 105 fourth- through eighth-grade students from more than 500 schools. They were selected to compete based on their performance in school-level ‘bees’ held in November and January.
The state champion will receive $100 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. May 23-25 for the 28th annual National Geographic Bee at National Geographic Society headquarters in the quest to become the first California student to win the national title and a college scholarship worth $50,000.
Competitors will answer questions about economic and physical geography, meteorology, geology, history and more, said Sean Boyd, Fresno State lecturer in the Department of Geography and City and Regional Planning who coordinates the event now in its third year on campus.
“This is an astounding group of young people, who will be our future elected officials, diplomats, and entrepreneurs. It is exciting to observe their grasp of Geography, and their recognition of how important knowledge of Geography is, in our fast-paced world.”
Parents of competitors may attend some of the first round competitions held in classrooms on campus depending on room size, Boyd said.
This is the third year the state bee has been hosted by Fresno State which will open with University President Joseph I. Castro welcoming the “Geography Brainiacs.”
For more information, contact Boyd at 559.278.2797 or seboyd@csufresno.edu.
Related links:
- List of participants by schools
- Previous state champions
