Tulsa student's geography knowledge earns him a special trip

Which country does the Kiwi bird call home? Name the continent that's directly underneath the hole in the ozone layer? Are you stumped? One Tulsa student knows the answers and more and his geography

Thursday, May 19th 2005, 9:20 am

By: News On 6

Which country does the Kiwi bird call home? Name the continent that's directly underneath the hole in the ozone layer? Are you stumped? One Tulsa student knows the answers and more and his geography IQ is taking him to the nation's capital.

News on 6 reporter Ashli Sims meets a young man who knows his way around the world.

13-year-old Vivek Kudori has never set foot in Australia, but he knows all about the country's natural resources. In fact, if itâ€™s a geography question, Vivek probably knows the answer. Vivek has studied maps and read geography books since he was in the 6th grade.

Vivekâ€™s teacher Marilyn Howard: "he's an excellent student he's an achiever in all areas.â€ And this year all the hard work paid off at the state geography bee. University School 8th grader Vivek Kudori: "I wanted to do really well and I was expecting to do well but I didn't think I would win first."

The winning question. "The Lower Tanguska and the Ungar River are the chief tributaries of Russia's largest river in volume; name this river, the Yenisey River." The National Geographic Bee in Washington DC. "I'm really excited cause I've never been there before. We're going to stay about a week so we can visit all of the different places there."

Meeting Alex Trebek, the moderator for the competition, is also high on Vivek's list. "My mom when we go to Washington DC she just wants a picture with me and Alex Trebek." As far as the competition itself. "Well everybody's been saying that I could probably get into the top ten but I'm not really sure because I'm not sure how good the other people are but I want to do well." If he keeps coming up with the right answers, he'll do just that.

The answers to our little pop quiz. The Kiwi bird is native to New Zealand. And the ozone layer is over the continent of Antarctica.

The National Geographic Bee starts next Tuesday in Washington DC. 55 students will compete for a $25,000 college scholarship.