For Immediate Release

WASHINGTON—The National Geographic Society is launching GeoChallenge—an annual competition for high school students that is part of its ongoing commitment to improve geography education in American schools.

The new competition is a rigorous research project contest for talented students in grades 9 through 12. A total of U.S.$50,000 in college scholarships will be awarded to the national champions. The Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. (ESRI), the leading geographic information system software company, is the corporate sponsor of the 1999 GeoChallenge.

National Geographic’s National Geography Bee, a nationwide competition for schools with grades 4 through 8, draws about 5 million students each year to vie for college scholarships totaling U.S.$50,000. The Bee is in its 11th year.

“Programs like GeoChallenge and the Geography Bee are integral to helping educate today’s students who will be tomorrow’s leaders,” said Dale Petroskey, senior vice president for mission programs at the National Geographic Society. “By developing young minds through these programs, we are investing in a bright future.”

Jack Dangermond, president of ESRI, said, “We are proud to work with National Geographic to promote the understanding of geography as an important discipline. Geography matters in everything we do, both on a local and global scale. GeoChallenge will showcase young students and the power that results from geographic research.”

Each of the 10 finalists of GeoChallenge will win U.S.$500 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. for the final competition at National Geographic Society headquarters. The first, second and third place winners will be awarded college scholarships for U.S.$25,000, U.S.$15,000 and U.S.$10,000 respectively.

GeoChallenge requires students to design, conduct and report on an independent, original geography research project. The intention is to help students understand the real-world applications of geography while also developing important skills. The competition involves the formulation of geographic questions, collecting and analyzing data, critical thinking, organizing and presenting information, and writing a research report that is submitted to the National Geographic Society for judging.

Entries must be received by the Society by Jan. 29, 1999. Entrants must be high school students enrolled in grades 9 through 12 or equivalent homeschool students, age 19 or younger on July 1, 1999. Entrants must be residents of the United States or its territories.

Each project must be supervised by a high school teacher and represent the independent work of the entrant. A panel of judges in each state that will include geography professors, educators and other professionals will evaluate the research reports from its state and advance a maximum of two entries to semifinal judging.

Ten finalists will be selected from the two entries from each state by a panel of judges in Washington. Finalists come to the National Geographic Society headquarters in the nation’s capital for final judging June 28-29, 1999. This will include a question-and-answer session and review of an exhibit that each finalist will prepare to illustrate his or her research project. Rules and instructions are available online at www.nationalgeographic.com/geochallenge, or educators may request information by writing to GeoChallenge, P.O. Box 98196, Washington, D.C. 20090-8196.

The National Geographic Society is the world’s largest nonprofit educational and scientific organization, with 10 million members worldwide. The Society has invested U.S.$110 million over the past 11 years to combat geographic illiteracy. Since its founding in 1888 in Washington to “increase and diffuse geographic knowledge,” National Geographic has supported more than 6,000 scientific research projects and expeditions.

The Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. was founded in 1969 as a research group devoted to improving methods of handling geographically referenced data. Today, ESRI is the leading developer of geographic information system software, with more than 100,000 clients worldwide. ESRI also provides consulting, implementation and technical support services.

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