Students from five different Cranston schools will be representing the city in the state National Geographic Bee, which will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 6 at the Shriners Imperial Room and Scottish Masonic Building in Cranston.

There are a total of 51 students from around the state competing for the cash prize and a chance to represent Rhode Island in the national contest this year from grades four through eight, including five from Cranston.

The Cranston students include Aidan Paplauskas, a 4th grader at St. Mary’s School, Henry Cheng, a 6th grader at Western Hills Middle School, Devin Exter, a 6th grader at Hope Highlands Middle School, David Gomez, a 7th grader at Park View Middle School, and Jaymond Lei, an 8th grader at Hugh Bain Middle School.

The contest this year has added importance, as the National Geographic Bee is celebrating its 30th anniversary.  That means that the cash prize for the top three students in each state has doubled to $200.

Each state champion will receive the cash prize, a National Geographic Atlas, and will represent Rhode Island in the National Geographic Bee Championship in Washington, D.C. from May 20-23.

The national champion from that contest will receive a $50,000 college scholarship, a lifetime subscription to National Geographic magazine, and an all-expenses-paid expedition to the Galapagos Islands aboard the National Geographic Endeavor II cruise ship. The second place finisher will receive a $25,000 scholarship and third place will get $10,000.

The National Geographic Bee is an annual competition organized by the National Geographic Society, designed to inspire and reward students' curiosity about the world. Students in grades four through eight (4-8) from 10,000 schools across the United States have been competing in the 2018 National Geographic Bee.