Justin Williams wins John Muir Middle School National Geographic Bee

Justin Williams, a 7th grade student at Wausau School District’s John Muir Middle School, won the school competition of the National Geographic Bee and a chance at a $50,000 college scholarship. The school Bee, at which students answered questions on geography, was the first round in the 30th annual National Geographic Bee, a geography competition designed to inspire and reward students’ curiosity about the world.

Thousands of schools around the United States and in the five U.S. territories are participating in the 2018 National Geographic Bee. The school champions, including Justin, will take a qualifying test; up to 100 of the top scorers on that test in each state will then be eligible to compete in their state Bee on April 6, 2018.

The National Geographic Society will provide an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., for state winners to participate in the Bee national championship rounds May 20-23, 2018. The first- place national champion will receive a $50,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the Society, including a subscription to National Geographic magazine, and an all-expenses-paid Lindblad expedition to the Gala?pagos Islands aboard the new National Geographic Endeavour ll. Travel for the trip is provided by Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic. Second- and third-place finishers will receive $25,000 and $10,000 college scholarships, respectively.

National Geographic will air the final round of the National Geographic Bee Championship in May 2018. It will air later on public television stations; check local television listings for dates and times.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the National Geographic Bee. The National Geographic Society developed the National Geographic Bee in 1989 in response to concern about the lack of geographic knowledge among young people in the United States. Over three decades, 1,583 state champions have traveled to D.C. to participate in the finals and more than $1.5 million in college scholarship money has been awarded to winners of the competition by the National Geographic Society.