Back to school is an exciting time for the National Geographic Education team with new resources and professional development courses launching. There’s a particular buzz around campus because back to school also means a new season of the National Geographic GeoBee. 

Every year, 2.5 million students across the United States participate in the GeoBee. The academic competition challenges students with questions covering geography, world civilizations, habitats, cultures, physical features, and more. 

“It’s not just looking at atlases, like many people know. It’s looking at how places in those atlases affect our world today and how problems in those places affect us and how we can fix them individually and as humans of the world,” said Nihar Janga, 2019 National Geographic GeoBee champion. 

Developed by the National Geographic Society in 1988 to promote geographic knowledge among young people in the United States, the GeoBee is open to public, private, and homeschools in the United States and its territories, as well as the Department of Defense Dependents Schools. More than 120 million students have learned about the world through participation in the GeoBee since its inception. 

It all starts at the school level

There are three levels of competition: school, state, and national. 

School registration includes a suite of curated study resources including an expanded study toolkit, 400+ GeoBee questions, and prizes to celebrate participants. 

The GeoBee is designed to be flexible—it requires a minimum of six students to participate, but there’s no limit on how many students in your school may compete. The school champion takes a proctored online qualifying test, and the top-100-ranked students in each state qualify to represent their school at the State GeoBee competition. State champions are then invited to compete in the national championship.

Watch this video to learn how to have a successful GeoBee at your school. 

Discounts for Title I schools

Title I schools are eligible for a discount on GeoBee registration. Go to NatGeoBee.org to fill out the 2019-2020 GeoBee Discount Request Form. 

Resources to prepare your students

Test materials are now available to all registered coordinators who have completed payment. School GeoBees can be held anytime between now and February 7, 2020. Geography-themed Kahoot! games, study materials, and lesson plans are available in the GeoBee Study Corner. 

Is your school participating this year? Connect with other coordinators across the country by joining the GeoBee online community. Use #NatGeoBee to follow the competition on social media. 

Key #NatGeoBee Dates:  

• October 1, 2019–February 7, 2020: School GeoBees held; date and time determined locally.
• November 15, 2019: Online State GeoBee qualifying test available.
• December 20, 2019: Registration by check closes.
• December 21, 2019–January 24, 2020: Registration limited to credit card transactions.
• January 24, 2020: Last day for School GeoBee registration.
• February 7, 2020: Deadline for completion of online State GeoBee qualifying test.
• March 2, 2020: State GeoBee qualifiers announced on NatGeoBee.org/results.
• March 27, 2020: State GeoBees held.
• Spring 2020: National Championship (date TBD).