Students learn about world in geography bee
If students in Bryan Elementary School’s Geography Bee last week were guessing correctly, Missoula is in Wyoming; Columbus, Mo., is farther south than Little Rock; Arkansas is more prone to blizzards than Idaho; Russia was under U.S control until 1946; and Islam is a country, not a religion.
Makes you realize how much you learn about the world after age 10.
Fourth- and fifth-graders had the option of participating in a geography bee at each elementary school in the Coeur d’Alene School District. Study sessions were held in the weeks leading up to the competition. For many, the pressure of the competition caused them to stumble on questions to which they probably knew the answer. But many of the questions, particularly from the final round, which focused on cultural geography, seemed to stump most everyone.
The color of the contestant’s face was usually the first indicator of whether they knew the answer or not.
“Don’t feel bad,” host Bob Turner, advanced learning program director at Bryan, said to a red-faced girl after she missed the question.
“How are you guys doing on these, huh?” he continued, turning to the audience of a few parents and kids from other classes after the wrong answers piled up. “That was a tough round.”
About 20 students participated in Bryan’s bee on Jan. 5. After about eight rounds of questions, two finalists remained: Fourth-grader Dane Hill and fifth-grader Mikayla Davenport. After numerous other questions, Mikayla prevailed. She received an engraved plaque for her win and will take a 70-question multiple-choice test from the National Geographic Society to see if she qualifies for the state competition, along with the winners from the 12 other participating schools. The top 100 students from the state advance, and the winner moves on to the national competition, sponsored by the National Geographic Society.
Sarah Weeks watched the competition at Bryan with two other parents. Her son, Ammon, a fifth-grader, was a finalist.
Weeks said she and her husband do a lot to ensure Ammon experiences other cultures and places outside Kootenai County.
“My husband’s big on the state capitals, and we travel a lot,” Weeks said. “We just try to provide him with well-roundedness at home.”
Winners from other schools include Alivea Goncalves, a fifth-grader at Borah Elementary School; Chase Sanchez, a fourth-grader at Fernan Elementary; Logan Stewart, a fifth-grader at Ramsey Elementary; and Jared Raynor, a Canfield Middle School student. The other schools haven’t held their bees or held them past this column’s deadline.
Take me to the moon
In college or know someone who is? Encourage them to apply for NASA’s summer internship.
The Idaho Space Grant Consortium is accepting applications for 18 different internships offered by NASA. A press release said the internships often lead to jobs with the space agency.
“It has been my experience that students who intern with NASA gain not only experiences of a lifetime, but a new understanding of the importance of their studies, and a greater dedication to their education and research,” Jean Teasdale, Idaho Space Grant Consortium director, said in a news release.
Many of the internships pair students with researchers working on NASA projects. The ISGC provides round-trip travel to these internships and stipends for some of the others. Many internships provide student stipends of up to $5,000. NASA also offers internships in physics, robotics, aerospace and other fields.
For an application, visit http://isgc.uidaho.edu and click on internships under the Higher Education menu. NASA internships have varying deadlines through the late spring.