On Top of the World
Geography Students' Knowledge Base Is All Over the Place

Monday, May 22, 2006

Can you find Louisiana on a map? How about Iraq? Or India?

Well, of course you can, because KidsPost readers are exceptionally smart. But a recent survey conducted for National Geographic reported that a third of young adults (ages 18 to 24) couldn't pick out Louisiana. Almost half couldn't find India, and 60 percent couldn't find Iraq.

Those results are pretty upsetting to world leaders, teachers and others who think that the more we know about the world, the better we relate to people from other countries. Understanding geography also can help us work to improve the environment and the economies of other nations, says John Fahey, president of the National Geographic Society.

The good news: There are 55 kids visiting Washington this week who understand the importance of geography and could have aced that survey. They are the winners of state-level geography bees, here to compete in the finals of the National Geographic Bee. (Yes, we know there are 50 states. So how can there be 55 contestants? The total includes representatives from the District of Columbia and U.S. territories including Puerto Rico.)

The 55 kids competing tomorrow and Wednesday have been whittled down from the more than 5 million who participated in geography bees at schools.

How might you do at the geography bee? Here are some sample questions:

1. Which state has a shoreline on Lake Erie: Iowa or Ohio?

2. Which state is known as the Pelican State because pelicans are native to its gulf coast: Maryland or Louisiana? (Okay, we gave you an easy one!)

3. Name the easternmost of Canada's three prairie provinces.

4. The ruins of Persepolis, an ancient capital of Persia, are in what present-day country?

5. What country on the Gulf of Honduras was formerly known as British Honduras?

Answers: A. Utah; B. Texas; C. Indiana; D. Alabama; 1. Ohio; 2. Louisiana; 3. Manitoba; 4. Iran; 5. Belize.