MINSTER—Seventh grade student Lexi Hanson, daughter of Joe and April Hanson, won the 2019-20 “school-level” National Geography Bee. The school bee was held in the elementary school large group instruction room on Jan. 16.
This year’s participants were: Jackson Corona, fifth grade; Brooke Garringer, fifth grade; Parker Kerrigan, fifth grade; Annie Hemmelgarn, sixth grade; Jace Hemmelgarn, sixth grade; Ariana Hernandez, sixth grade; Joey Dwenger, seventh grade; Lexi Hanson, seventh grade; Max Knapke, seventh grade; James Boehnlein, eighth grade; Ryan Halpin, eighth grade; and runner-up Jacob Keller, eighth grade.
The championship questions were:
• The wreck of the last known slave ship to arrive in America was recently discovered near Mobile, a major seaport in what state that borders the Gulf of Mexico? (Answer: Alabama).
• Teenager Greta Thunberg started a global movement bring attention to climate change when she protested outside her country’s Parliament House, located in the Gamla Stan district on what Swedish city? (Answer: Stockholm).
• A National Geographic Pristine Seas expedition helped gather scientific data to support the creation of a marine protected area surround Ascension Island. Ascension Island is located in the South Atlantic and is part of an overseas territory of what country? (Answer: United Kingdom).
The tie-breaker question was:
• Rain that falls on the slopes of Triple Divide Peak in Montana’s Glacier National Park eventually flows to the Pacific, the Atlantic and what other ocean? (Answer: Arctic Ocean).
Lexi will now take an online geography exam to determine eligibility for state competition. She will find out if she will advance in competition in a few weeks.
The faculty and staff at Minster extend congratulations to all 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students for their participation, to the finalists of each class, and to Lexi Hanson for a job well done.
