Zebulon Cooper Wins Nebraska Geographic Bee
Qualifies for National Bee in Washington, D.C.
by Kevin Behne
May 18, 2010
On April 9, 2010, Zebulon Cooper, an eighth grade student at the Prague Public Schools, won the Nebraska National Geographic Bee. Zebulon received $100, the “National Geographic Collegiate Atlas of the World” and a trip to Washington, D.C., where he will represent Nebraska in the national finals on May 25-26, 2010. The national winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship and a lifetime membership in the Society. The national winner will also travel, all expenses paid, to the Galapagos Islands.
The final round of the national competition, on May 26, will be moderated by Alex Trebek of television’s “Jeopardy” fame. The finals will be televised on a cable channel.
School level bees were held with fourth through eighth grade students throughout the state to determine each school’s Geographic Bee 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, the 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 2010 Nebraska Geographic Bee was held at the University of Nebraska-Omaha Strauss Performing Arts Center. This is the third straight year that Zebulon has qualified for the state level bee.
Test your knowledge – The state championship round was a best of three questions.
1. Rotorua, a city famous for its geothermal pools and Maori culture attracts tourists to what country?
2. The nation of Montenegro, Macedonia, and Croatia are all located on what peninsula?
3. Jeddah is the port for the holy city of Mecca, located on what body of water?
Answers: 1. New Zealand, 2. Balkan, 3. Red Sea
