AUBURN — Jacob L Gamache of Auburn Middle School has been notified by the National Geographic Society that he is one of the semifinalists eligible to compete in the 2012 Maine National Geographic Bee. The seventh-grader is the son of Wendy Berube and Joseph Gamache.

Bees were held in schools with fourth- through eighth-grade students throughout the state. School-level winners took a qualifying test, which they submitted to the National Geographic Society. In each of the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Dependents Schools and the U.S. territories, the National Geographic Society invited the students with the top 100 scores to compete at the state level.

The 2012 Maine National Geographic Bee will be held the University of Maine, Farmington, on Friday, March 30.

The state winner will receive $100, the “Complete National Geographic on DVD” and a trip to Washington, D.C., where he/she will represent Maine in the national finals at National Geographic Society headquarters, May 22 to 24.

The first-place national winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the society and will also travel to the Galápagos Islands. For additional information on the National Geographic Bee, visit www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee.

National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo Wild will air the final round of the  National Geographic Bee, moderated by Alex Trebek, on Thursday, May 24 (to be followed on public television stations). 

For more information on the society, visit www.nationalgeographic.com.