WINNEMUCCA - French Ford Middle School fifth-grader Bradley Mitchell Murdock competed as a semifinalist March 30 in the 2012 Nevada National Geographic Bee in Las Vegas.
There were four or five different groups that made up the preliminary round, with 15 students in each group. There were eight rounds in the preliminary. Murdock answered the first six questions right and missed the last two. He missed getting into the tiebreaker round by one question.
The two boys who went on from his group each missed one question (only one less than Murdock). Both were eighth graders, and one had been to the state bee the year before.
Murdock received a T-shirt, pen and certificate, and then won an animal encyclopedia book as a raffle prize.
Bees were held in schools with fourth- through eighth-grade students throughout the state to determine each school's winner. School-level winners then took a qualifying test, which they submitted to the National Geographic Society. In each of the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Department of Defense Dependents Schools and the U.S. territories, the National Geographic Society invited the students with the top 100 scores to compete at the state level.
The state winner received $100, the "Complete National Geographic" on DVD and a trip to Washington, D.C., to represent Nevada in the national finals May 22 - 24.
The first-place national winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the society. The national winner will also travel (along with one parent or guardian), all-expenses paid, to the Galápagos Islands. The winner will experience geography firsthand through up-close encounters with the wildlife and landscape of Galápagos.
The National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo Wild will air the final round of the 2012 National Geographic Bee, moderated by Alex Trebek, on May 24 (to be followed on public television stations). Please check local listings for the date and time in your area.
For more information, visit www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee.
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