1. How do I participate in the National Science Bee, National History Bee, and National Geography Bee?

• Please click on the links above to learn more about each competition.
• Then, the first step is to take the Online Regional Qualifying Exam (ORQE) for each subject and earn a qualifying score. Parents can create a sponsor account for their child and oversee the exams for them. Official participation on behalf of a school is actively encouraged, but not required for any IAC competition, including these three Bees.

2. What do I do once I qualify?

• Once you have your qualifying score(s) you can register for a Regional Tournament. We offer both in-person and online regional tournaments.
• Select the event you wish to participate in and fill out the registration form to pay and submit your registration. Registration cost is $50 per bee subject per student.

3. What do I do if I missed the registration window for my event of choice?

• Registration typically closes 12 days in advance (i.e. at 11:59pm EDT on the Monday 12 days in advance of a Saturday tournament).
• Once the registration closes you will have the option of being put on a waitlist and if there is room in the tournament you will be contacted and asked if you still wish to register.
  • There is a $10.00 surcharge for late registration.

4. How many Regional Tournaments can I participate in over the season?

• For the National Science Bee and the National Geography Bee, students can participate in up to 4 Regional Tournaments each academic year.
• For the National History Bee, it is possible to compete up to 7 times (once on the four “color sets” [Red, White, Blue, and Gold] offered at the National Science, History, and Geography Bee Regional Tournaments, and once on the three “letter sets” [A, B, and C] offered at the National History Bee and Bowl Regional Tournaments).

5. How do I qualify for the National Championships and the various world championship level competitions?

• Students qualify for the National Championships by finishing in the top 50% of their competing division at any Regional Tournament. If students are competing in a division and a subject and they have already qualified for Nationals, then their scores are not taken into account unless it would be to the advantage of the other students in the division.
• Students qualify for the 2026 International Geography Championships, the 2027 International History Olympiad, the 2028 International Science Championships, and the 2029 International Environmental Science Olympiad by finishing in the top 33% of their competing division at their regional final or by finishing in the top 2/3 of their competing division at their national competition.

1. What is the difference between the National History Bee and the National History Bowl? Do I have to compete in both at a Regional Tournament?
The primary difference is that the Bee is an individual competition whereas the Bowl is a team competition. That said, “teams” of 1 student are welcome in the Bowl too- this is not that uncommon. You do not have to do both, but the Bee is held at different times as the Bowl on a tournament day, so students can compete in both. Likewise, students qualifying for the Varsity and Junior Varsity National Championships in both events will be able to play in both events at Nationals, as none of the History Bee and History Bowl matches overlap.

2. How much will it cost to participate in The National History Bowl? 

For the 2025-26 academic year, preregistration costs for our in-person Regional Tournaments are as follows:

$99 – National History Bowl team of 3-6 students
$79 – National History Bowl team of 2 students
$59 – National History Bowl team of 1 student

3. When and where will the National History Bee and Bowl Regional Tournaments take place? How do I register for them?

Events will take place across the country, as well as online. Please click here for a list of scheduled Regional Tournaments and to register for them.

4. What are the ways to qualify for the National Championships?

At each tournament, generally the top half of teams qualify for Nationals, and the top 50% of individuals qualify for the Bee. Teams qualify for Nationals by winning half of their preliminary games or a playoff game. For Junior Varsity or Middle School teams having to play in higher divisions due to a small field size, they can also qualify for Nationals by defeating a higher division team during prelims or playoffs. (e.g., a Middle School team defeating a Junior Varsity team).

5. Can a school enter more than one team to a tournament?
Yes! Schools can register an unlimited number of teams for a regional tournament.

6. Can a team compete at more than one tournament throughout the year?
Yes! Teams are encouraged to play our A set, B set, and C set events over the course of the year. Each set is an entirely different set of questions, so please come and play multiple tournaments.

7. Can a player play for two different teams during the year?
Yes, but only if they transfer schools, and they cannot go back and play for their old school. All players must be enrolled at the school they play for. Note that participating schools do not have to “officially” sanction their teams, however, thus still allowing teams to compete where the school the kids are enrolled at opposes participation for whatever reason. Also, all students cannot play for more than one team (e.g. transferring from a B team to an A team after the prelims) during any one event, but they can transfer from one event to the next, including the National Championships.

8. Will there be prizes for the winning teams and students? If so, what?
Medals (in the Bee) or plaques (in the Bowl) are awarded to top players at each regional event. Nationals prizes consist of trophies, plaques, and medals, depending on the student or team’s finish.

9. Is it possible to fundraise to cover registration costs?
Sure! We have many suggestions for fundraising ideas here.