All Elementary and Middle School Students must take our Online Regional Qualifying Exam (ORQE), which will be available from mid-September until early April. It is free to take, and is available in Geography, Science and History. The ORQE is a multiple-choice exam that can be completed online, and students can take one or all three exams if they wish. All three exams have 50 questions and take 20 minutes. If a student has a 504 or IEP accommodations for testing, reach out to us at ems-info@iacompetitions.com so that we can work together on meeting your students needs. Students who take the exam and earn a qualifying score are placed into divisions based on grade level – and qualify for Regional Finals within their grade.

Note that a registered Sponsor is required to take the ORQE! A parent or a teacher may register for the Sponsor Portal, and then students may register and take the exam at any time!

Students who earn a qualifying score on ORQEs will qualify for Regional Finals, which are mainly in-person, buzzer-based events. There will be Regional Finals held all over the country (as well as online), between October and April. Hopefully we will be in a city near you and if you are interested in hosting, reach out to us at ems-info@iacompetitions.com.

Three events are played at Regional Finals: The National History Bee, The National Science Bee, and The National Geography Bee, and each event is $47. To participate in each event at Regional Finals, students must be qualified in their respective ORQE.

Students can qualify for the National Championships in each event if they finish in the top 50% of students who played in their division. Students who are participating in the National History Bee, National Science Bee or National Geography Bee that finish in the top 25% of those who played in their divisions qualify for the International History Olympiad, the Environmental Science Olympiad and International Geography Championships, respectively (See Step Four).

The 2024 Elementary and Middle School National Championships take place in early summer; this season they will take place in Orlando, FL from May 24-27, 2024. Students at Nationals who are participating in the National History Bee, National Geography Bee/US Geography Championships and National Science Bee that finish in the top half of their divisions qualify for the International History Olympiad, International Geography Championships, and International Environmental Science Olympiad, respectively.

There are many more competitions beyond the three marquee competitions that are crowned at the National Championships! Check out our EMS Nationals page to learn more about them!

The International History Olympiad will take place during odd numbered years and International Geography Championships will be held during even numbered years. The next International History Olympiad will take place Summer 2025 and the International Geography Championships will take place in Summer 2024.

New this season is our International Environmental Science Olympiad, also taking place in 2024.

For further questions on these events, please contact info@iacompetitions.com.