US Geography Bee

Middle & Elementary School Divisions Homepage

New for 2024-2025!

US Geography Bee
US Geography Bee

The US Geography Bee Middle & Elementary School Divisions Overview

US Geography Bee

The United States Geography Bee is a quiz competition for individual students, testing knowledge of all aspects of American geography at a grade-appropriate level. For students competing in the Middle & Elementary School Divisions, the US Geography Bee consists solely of the National Championships. The National Championships of the US Geography Bee is entirely a buzzer-based quiz competition. Please note that the US Geography Bee is a distinct competition from the National Geography Bee. Questions in the US Geography Bee focus exclusively on the history of the USA and its territories and territorial waters. Questions in the National Geography Bee focus on both American geography and general world geography.

  • Eligibility: Students in 8th grade and younger who have qualified for and are competing in the National Championships of the National Geography Bee. There is no younger age limit.

  • Competitors:  Individual students. Separate age divisions for 8th Graders, 7th Graders, 6th Graders, 5th Graders, 4th Graders, and for students in 3rd Grade and Younger.

  • Competition Style: 4 preliminary rounds of buzzer-based competition, with semifinal and final rounds to determine the National Champions in each age division

  • Inquiries: Contact ems-info@iacompetitions.com

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Students participating in International Academic Competitions events

Competition Format

For students competing in the Middle & Elementary School Divisions, the US Geography Bee is a one-stage competition, consisting solely of the National Championships. Students can also qualify for the International Geography Championships by competing in the US Geography Bee.

Stage
1

National Championships

The National Championships of the US Geography Bee for the Middle and Elementary School Divisions for the 2024-25 academic year will take place at the Hyatt Regency Orlando on Thursday, May 22, 2025. The four preliminary rounds take place in the morning and the two final rounds will take place in the evening. The National Championships for the US Geography Bee are also held in conjunction with the National Championships of the National History Bee, National Geography Bee, National Science Bee, and many other events. A full schedule of the 2025 Varsity & Junior Varsity National Championships Events is available here.

For the Middle School & Elementary Divisions, only students who have qualified for and are competing in the National Championships of the National Geography Bee are eligible to compete in the US Geography Bee.

The cost to compete at the 2025 National Championships for the US History Bee is $135. Registration for the National Championships opens in November and runs through early May on this page. Nationals weekend will also feature many other events, including the Opening Ceremonies, a Family Quiz Night, Universal Studios Night, Intro to Model United Nations, various talks and receptions, and the Jeopardy! Charity Games.

For all questions on the 2025 Middle & Elementary School National Championships, please email ems-info@iacompetitions.com.

Bonus
Stage

International Geography Championships

Students who compete in the Middle & Elementary School Divisions of the US Geography Bee can qualify for the 2026 International Geography Championships! Students can qualify for IGC by finishing in the top 50% in their age division at the 2025 National Geography Bee National Championships. They can also qualify by finishing in the top 25% at any 2024-25 or 2025-26 National Geography Bee regional tournament, or in the top 50% at the 2025 or 2026 National Championships of the National Geography Bee. The complete qualifying methods for the International Geography Championships are explained here.

The International Geography Championships is a week-long event with numerous competitions, field trips, family activities and more. In each event, medals are awarded to the top 3 competing students in each age division. US students compete for their state; students from other countries (or students in the USA who were born abroad or who have foreign citizenship) represent those countries. Two of the most prestigious events at IGC are the International Geography Bee World Championships and the International Geography Bowl World Championships; an overall IGC Championship title is also awarded in each age division; please view the website at www.geochampionships.com for further details on all events and to register. We are expecting 300-400 students to attend the 2026 IGC.

For all questions on the 2026 International Geography Championships, please email igc@iacompetitions.com.

US Geography Bee Practice Resources

International Geography Championships

Additional geography questions are found under the Events tab on the IGC site though some are in different formats from those used in the National Geography Bee.

Quiz Bowl Packets

This site has links to hundreds of thousands of additional questions; most of which are not geographically-themed, though a good many are.

Rules & FAQs

The hotels where we have room blocks, especially the host hotel, provide us with meeting space to hold the competitions and with sleeping accommodations for our staff, which we need to fly in from around the country. They do this in return for a commitment to fulfill a large number of sleeping room bookings over the course of Nationals weekend. For students who live near the Nationals host site for whom it would make sense to attend Nationals as a day trip and go back to their home each night, this rule does not apply.

This is likely, though not guaranteed. If this occurs, it would most likely be in an online format taking place at the same time as the in-person rounds at the Middle & Elementary School National Championships.