Category: Geography In the News
National Geographic Bee 2012: And the winner is…..
One might think that the brightest geographic minds in the world reside within the ivy-covered walls of our universities, in high levels of government, or at prestigious publications, such as National Geographic. Once again this year, experts worldwide were blown away by the astuteness of the finalists of the National Geographic Bee, an annual competition hosted by the Society, now in its 24th year.
Staff at NG headquarters have spent the past week humbled by the knowledge of the contestants. On Monday, 54 young boys and girls from throughout the United States arrived in Washington, aiming to take home a $25,000 scholarship by the end of the week. Only one walked away with the prize, Rahul Nagvekar, a 14-year-old 8th grader from Texas.
Nagvekar beat out nine other finalists in Grosvenor Auditorium, in front of a live crowd of over 400, and a nationwide audience on the National Geographic Channel when the special aired Thursday evening. In addition to the $25,000 scholarship, Nagvekar won a trip to the Galapagos Islands, as well as a lifetime membership to the National Geographic Society, which includes a subscription to the monthly journal, National Geographic magazine.
From left: runner-up Vansh Jain of Wisconsin;
third-place winner Varun Mahadevan of California; Jeopardy! host and Bee
moderator Alex Trebek; and champion Rahul Nagvekar of Texas. Photo by Laura
Wallach.
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Welcome Summer Intern Justin Fisch!
Hello! Bonjour! Hola! Oi!
Having already been in the nation’s capital for over a week, one would think that I would have taken the time to sit down and write. In the end, my assignment with National Geographic is to connect with all of you through our blog and social media platforms. Yet, I have been far too busy exploring Nat Geo’s immense campus, wandering the halls in search of explorers, and attending conferences to best educate myself on how to connect with you, the reader.
So now it’s finally time for me to sit down and say hey! (Well, I guess I already did so six separate times above). My name is Justin Fisch and I am the new Social Media and Promotion Intern with National Geographic Education. I officially started work with the Society last Monday, and will be with you until the beginning of August. I hail from Nova Scotia, Canada, by way of the great state of Florida, where I have been educated for the past decade. I recently graduated from the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences. At UF, I triple-majored (or so they call it) in Political Science, Geography, and Sustainability Studies. I also received minors in Latin American Studies and International Studies in Agriculture & Life Sciences, two very keen interests of mine.
A Brief Introduction to National Geographic’s 2012 Emerging Explorers
What do a chemist, a cyborg anthropologist, an underwater archaeologist, a crisis mapper, and 11 other scientists have in common? Aside from being very specialized and determined researchers, they comprise the class of 15 new National Geographic Emerging Explorers for 2012. “National Geographic’s Emerging Explorers Program recognizes and supports uniquely gifted and inspiring young adventurers, scientists, photographers, and storytellers–explorers who are already making a difference early in their careers. To help the Emerging Explorers realize their potential, National Geographic awards each of them $10,000 for research and exploration.”
Krithi Karanth, an Emerging Explorer and the Society’s 10,000th Research Grant Recipient, is out to analyze complex human-wildlife interactions (such as with this Bengal Tiger in one of the planet’s most populous hot spots: India.” Photo by Austin Perez.
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A Rare Spirit Bear Sighting
A rare spirit bear, also known paradoxically as the “white black bear,” was spotted during a National Geographic Expeditions small-ship trip last weekend through the Inside Passage of British Columbia, southeast of Alaska. The expedition to Alaska, British Columbia, and the San Juan Islands, is a 12-day biannual trip aboard one of two vessels: the National Geographic Sea Lion and the National Geographic Sea Bird. This incredible experience affords travelers a chance to explore the wilderness by Zodiac, by kayak, and on foot, with a team of naturalists and a National Geographic photographer.
Spirit Bear in British Columbia. Photo by Justin Hofman. During this most recent excursion, which just concluded this month, several whale sightings were tallied as the Sea Bird traversed northward through the islands and straights of maritime British Columbia on her way to Alaska. This landscape has been described as “an unspoiled labyrinth of tiny islands, spectacular fiords, and abundant wildlife.” This is a land where wolves can fish, deer have been known to swim, and black bears are sometimes white.