Lower Macungie Middle School students recently participated in the 2013 National Geographic Bee, testing their knowledge of geography in the regional portion of the national competition.

Each year thousands of schools in the United States participate in the bee using materials and questions provided by the National Geographic Society. The contest is designed to encourage teachers to include geography in their curriculum, spark students' interest in the subject and increase public awareness about the importance of knowledge in their geographic surroundings.

Lower Macungie Middle School was one of the schools participating in the competition, which ultimately will award a $25,000 scholarship to the national winner at the final competition hosted by Alex Trebek in Washington D.C.

The entire school held classroom and team competitions to find the most knowledgeable students when it comes to geography.

Coming from sixth, seventh and eighth grade, 10 students participated in the final LMMS bee to find who would have a chance to move on to the state portion of the competition. Sonya Boukenglots, Ben Braun, Jonathan Bersier, Andrew Vanim, Joey Raymond, Marie Marsich, Lan Huynh, J.R. deHoll, Ian Smith and Adrian Delgado tested their knowledge about geography Jan. 4 in an event broadcasted over the school television station, BuzzTV.

Seventh Grader Ben Braun cemented his place as the overall winner of the LMMS competition by consistently providing correct answers to the varied questions.

Braun's knowledge was tested with questions such as, "The town of Bozeman, known for its ranchers, artists and trout fishing, is located north of Yellowstone National Park in what state?" and "Lake Champlain forms part of the border between Vermont and which state?"

In the various stages of the competition, students were quick to write or say answers such as "Montana" or "New York" to see who could advance to the next round.

The next step in the competition for Braun will be a multiple choice test with the top 100 performers in the state of Pennsylvania advancing to the state level of the competition in Shippensburg April 5.

The students with the most geographic knowledge at each of the state competitions will advance to the national level competition scheduled to be aired on PBS.