Local Boy to Test Geography Skills at State Geography Bee

On Friday, April 1, young geography buffs across the United States will participate in state-level Geographic Bees, vying for a spot in the national competition in Washington, D.C., in May. National Geographic first created the Bee in 1989 to address concern about the lack of geographic knowledge among the United States' younger generations.

Arnav Jagasia, a seventh grader at , is one of the 100 geography whizzes competing in Pennsylvania's final. The state Bees are the second level of the annual National Geographic Bee. The first level began in November in nearly 12,000 U.S. schools, with millions of students participating nationwide.

Up to 100 fourth- to eighth-graders in each of the 50 states have qualified for the state finals, and the 50 winners will receive $100, "The Complete National Geographic" on DVD and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the national finals May 24 to 25, where they'll have the chance to become the next National Geographic Bee champion.

First prize in the national competition is a $25,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society. Second- and third-place finishers receive $15,000 and $10,000 college scholarships, respectively. National Geographic also wants the national winner (and a parent or guardian) to experience geography firsthand with an  all-expenses-paid trip to the Galápagos Islands.

Competitors can hone their geography skills in the Bee section of the National Geographic Society Web site with the GeoBee Challenge game. The National Geographic GeoBee Challenge app, with more than 1,000 questions from previous Bees, is available from the App.  Store on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, or in the Android Market.