The 2019 Geo Championships begin today at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C. This event celebrates the hard work students invested this school year into the National Geographic GeoBee and National Geographic GeoChallenge.
Now in its 31st year, the GeoBee is an annual competition designed to inspire and reward students’ curiosity about the world. More than 2.5 million students, grades four through eight, in nearly 10,000 schools competed in this year’s GeoBee. The 54 Finalists won their state and territory competitions which took place in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. Atlantic and Pacific territories, and Department of Defense Dependents Schools.
The GeoChallenge is a new, themed, and project-based competition designed to engage students in developing creative solutions to real-world problems. Students in grades five through eight form teams—between four and six people—to create and present real-world solutions to a problem, challenge, or critical issue. This year’s theme—Tackling Plastic!—asked students to address the urgent issue of plastic pollution in our waterways. Students practiced important skills like research, collaboration, creativity, and communication, just like National Geographic Explorers. Over 1,000 solutions were submitted to this year’s GeoChallenge.
Read more about the 2019 Geo Championships here. Good luck to all of the students!