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Yang helps lead U.S. to world finals
National geography bee champion and Griffin Middle School student Eric Yang, second from left, will compete as part of the United States geography team from 11 a.m. to noon today in the National Geographic World Championship in Mexico City. Yang and teammates Karl Golimlim and Milan Sandhu comprise one of three teams that have advanced to the finals after preliminary competition the past few days. Joining the United States in the finals are Canada and Poland./NGS photo
By BLAINE CRIMMINS, Staff writer
National geography bee champion and Griffin Middle School student Eric Yang will compete as part of the United States geography team from 11 a.m. to noon today in the National Geographic World Championship in Mexico City.
Yang and teammates Karl Golimlim and Milan Sandhu comprise one of three teams that have advanced to the finals after preliminary competition the past few days. Joining the United States in the finals are Canada and Poland.
A total of 17 teams from around the globe are participating in the event. Each team is comprised of three students who excelled in their national geography competition. The teams answer questions on physical, cultural, and economic geography in two levels of competition.
On Monday, teams battled in hands-on activities, followed by a visit to the ancient city of Teotihuacan that afternoon. They explored Chapultepec Park on Tuesday, one of the largest urban parks in the world, as well nearby museums.
The three teams with the highest scores from the written test and geography activity meet at Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology and History for the championship finals today. They will answer questions in a game-show format, moderated by Alex Trebek, host of the U.S. television quiz show “Jeopardy!”.
The National Geographic World Championship takes place every two years. The first contest, held in London in 1993, was won by the United States, which beat teams from the United Kingdom and Russia. The 2007 competition was won by a team from Mexico.
“Promoting knowledge of our world, its cultures and the environment is at the heart of the mission of the National Geographic Society,” said John Fahey, Society president and CEO. “The National Geographic World Championship provides a forum for top geography students from all corners of the globe to compete and to determine which team is the international geography champion. By participating in their region's competition and advancing to the international level, each student learns so much about our planet and becomes a better global citizen for the experience.”
The National Geographic Society developed the National Geographic Bee in 1989 and the National Geographic World Championship in 1993 in response to concern about the lack of geographic knowledge among young people in the United States.
According to the Society, the problem is not yet resolved: The National Geographic-Roper Public Affairs 2006 Geographic Literacy Study showed that Americans aged 18 to 24 still have limited understanding of the world within and beyond their country’s borders. Even after Hurricane Katrina, one-third could not locate Louisiana and almost half could not locate Mississippi on a U.S. map. Only four out of 10 were able to find Iraq on a map of the Middle East.
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