Schools

Which State Shares the Black Hills with South Dakota?

The Taylor Middle School Geography Bee asks kids to know the difference between Oshkosh and Okefenokee.

 

It took 68 questions to eliminate Brandon Li's nine competitors in Thursday's regional Geography Bee.  In the end, the eighth-grader at Taylor Middle School had a bit of an inside edge.

Q: Cologne Cathedral, the largest Gothic church in northern Europe, is located in the Rhineland region of what country?

Find out what's happening in Millbraewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Brandon's last competitor remaining, Alex Tinsay-Roxas, was perplexed. His mind drew a blank on the writing tablet in front of him.

Meanwhile, Brandon Li hurried to write down his answer.

Find out what's happening in Millbraewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Finally, Tinsay-Roxas scribbled down a response. The judge asked for his answer. "Britain", he wrote.

"No, I'm sorry, that is incorrect," said the judge. It seemed like the final round of Jeopardy.

"Brandon, would you please show your answer to the judges?"

Brandon Li revealed his tablet. "Germany", he wrote.

"That is correct."

Brandon Li had just won the Geography Bee. Those in the audience applauded graciously.

Turns out, a little family travel time may have helped. At the age of 9, Brandon visited Germany. It's one of his favorite locales.

"There seems to be a lot to see there," said Li. "The museums had a lot of material; I learned a lot."

Other competitors, whether travelers or not, were not as Bee-fortunate as Li.

Mutiara Carney, a sixth-grader who remained in the competition against three eighth-graders until the end, knew:

Q: Which river begins in the Rocky Mountains and has its mouth at the Gulf of Calfornia? (Colorado River)

But she stumbled on:

Q: The Valley of the Whales, a desert filled with fossilized remains of prehistoric whales, is located in what country north of Sudan? "Nigeria," she said. The correct answer: Egypt.

And eighth-grader Victor Peris knew:

Q: What mountain system that lies mostly in California provides much of the spectacular scenery in Yosemite National Park? (Sierra Nevada)

But stumbled on:

Q: What is the term for a bowl-shaped depression made by the impact of a meteorite on Earth's surface? (crater)

"Kids are still interested in geography," says organizer Tom Imrey, a core teacher at Taylor. "There is geography included in the curriculum and in the standards, but teachers don't really have the freedom to teach as much geography as they might have done before."

How would Imrey compare the geography skill-set California students possess to the geography skill-sets of students from other parts of the country?

"We are kind of on this side of the divide," says Imrey. "We're not as connected to Europe and the rest of the world as the East Coast is. And those states in the East are much more connected because they're much closer to each other. If you live in Pennsylvania, you've been to Virginia, you've been to Washington DC, whereas California, everything is so far apart, kids have not been to a lot of places other than Hawaii or Las Vegas."

The National Geographic Society has sponsored the Geography Bee since 1989. Technically, it's now called the National Geographic Bee, and brings together 4th to 8th-grade students from around the country.

Brandon Li will now take a written test; California students with the top one-hundred test results qualify to compete in the state Bee in Sacramento in April.

Ultimately, there is the chance to win a trip to the Galapagos Islands, accompanied by Alex Trebek.

Last year's California Geographic Bee champion was from the Peninsula: Tuvya Bergson-Michelson, a 4th-grader at The Nueva School of Hillsborough. Tuvya finished in 9th place nationally. (A YouTube video of Tuvya is attached to this article.)

Brandon Li will head to Mills High School next year as a freshman. His favorite state?

"California!"


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here