America 250: 5 major events celebrating the nation’s semiquincentennial
3. Presidential 1776 Award Competition
On June 26, two high school students will gather at the Kennedy Center in Washington for a competition testing their knowledge of America's founding for a chance to win a $150,000 scholarship.
The event marks the culmination of a months-long process titled the Presidential 1776 Award Competition, which began in February with an online test open to students ages 14 to 19 in all 50 states.
The 90-minute test consisted of three sections of multiple-choice questions. Participants were not allowed to use books or notes while completing the test.
The top four highest-scoring students from each state or territory will advance to the regional semifinals, where they will answer questions orally before small groups of students and a judge at one of five presidential libraries, depending on where they live.
Students in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, as well as the District of Columbia, competed at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. Meanwhile, students in the South, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, competed at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, Georgia.
Students in the Midwest traveled to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Students in the frontier states gathered at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas.
Students in the western states, as well as American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, competed at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California.
After the first round of regional semifinals competition, the number of participants was reduced to 20.
The final 20 students will travel to Washington in June for the national finals. They will be asked to answer verbal questions and will be awarded a point for each correct answer. The third-place finisher will receive a $25,000 scholarship, while the runner-up will receive a $75,000 scholarship and the top prize will be a $150,000 scholarship.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
