
When I arrived at the Doubletree Crystal City in Arlington, VA this morning, the place was buzzing with world chatter. I overheard conversations about official languages and state capitals as parents and Bee competitors fueled up over breakfast.
As
mentioned yesterday, the 55 competitors (ages 10-14) have won school and state championships to qualify for this national final. They are a talented group of students with interests that reach far beyond geography -- they are musicians, athletes, Boy & Girl Scouts, artists, writers and video game champs. They admire the Dalai Lama, Jane Goodall, Al Gore, Ben Franklin and evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond.
According to their event bios, some of these savvy students have visited Istanbul, Paris, China, the Galapagos, Mexico, Bahamas, Nova Scotia, Pompeii, Japan, Iceland, Zion and Yellowstone National Parks. And they aspire to visit places like Dubai, Dublin, Polynesia, Belize, New Zealand and Egypt. But they were here today because they know a lot more about tons of places they have never been to.
Here's a photo recap from the morning's events: