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Without checking Wikipedia, can you name what National Park the Grand Staircase is in? How about which country the rumba originated? Middlesex sixth-grader Michael Borecki can, which is why he won the school Geographic Bee and will probably compete in the state competition in April.
"I think it's interesting and fun to learn about new places," he said. Michael does so well because he enjoys reading, particularly about history. Ask him what happened between 1850 and 1950, his favorite historical period, and he can rattle off a number of important historical events. "A lot happened in the world, it was an era of expansion."
Michael just finished taking a 70-question qualifier test to see if he makes it to the state level, where he has competed the last two years. Both times he finished in the Top 10, and is looking to go for the big prize this year. "A couple questions on the qualifier were kind of tough, but I've never not passed the qualifier."
Michael studies hard for the competitions with librarian Barbara Ivey, who runs the Geographic Bee for all Darien schools. "For 18 years I've been coaching the winner of the bees for the state bee. I coach as many kids as want to study. Michael comes in a couple times a week."
They use almanacs, National Geographic books and official study guides to prepare. They cover every subject, from geography to culture, history and current events. Michael said he has the hardest time with physical geography such as rock types. "Those questions are usually multiple choice, so I try to knock out the answers I know are wrong."
Last year, he got stumped on a question about the location of the Brooks Range mountains. The answer: Alaska. "Once I was told the answer I realized that I knew that, which was frustrating." But Michael is confident that he can pull off a victory this year to go on to the national competition.
Oh, the Grand Staircase is in Escalante National Monument in Utah, which is pretty far from Cuba, where the rumba originated.
Do you know any whiz kids in your school? Send me an email at cdonahue@mainstreetconnect.us and I'll do a profile on them.
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