Boardman, Oregon, January 16, 2008 – Avika Sharma, a sixth grade student at Windy River Elementary, won the school-level competition of the National Geographic Bee on January 16, 2008 and a chance at a $25,000 college scholarship. The school-level Bee, at which students answered oral questions on geography, was the first round in the 20th annual National Geographic Bee. The Bee is sponsored by the National Geographic Society.

The kickoff for this year’s Bee was the week of November 12, with thousands of schools around the United States and in the five U.S. territories participating. The school winners, including Kelsey, took a written test; up 100 of the top scorers in each state will be eligible to compete in their state Bee April 4, 2008.

The National geographic Society will provide an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for state champions and teacher-escorts to participate in the National geographic Bee national championship on May 20 and 21, 2008. The first-place national winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship and a lifetime membership in the Society.

“Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek will moderate the national finals on May 21. The program will air on television. Check local listings for dates and times.

Anyone can brush up on geography with GeoBee Challenge, an online geography quiz at www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee, which poses five new questions a day from previous National Geographic Bees. The GeoBee Challenge board game also provides geography fun for the whole family. The board game won the prestigious Parents’ Choice Award.

The National Geographic Society is one of the worlds’ largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. The 118-year-old Society reflects the world through magazines, television programs, films, radio, books, videos, maps, interactive media and merchandise. National Geographic magazine, the official journal of the Society, is read by about 40 million people each month in every country of the world. The National Geographic Channel reaches nearly 300 million households in 27 languages in 164 countries. National geographic has funded more than 8,000 scientific research projects and supports an education program combating geographic illiteracy.