The 18th National Geographic Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on May 24, 2006, sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The final competition was moderated by Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek.[1] The winner was Bonny Jain of Moline, Illinois, who won a $25,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society. The 2nd-place winner, Neeraj Sirdeshmukh of Nashua, New Hampshire, won a $15,000 scholarship. The 3rd-place winner, Yeshwanth Kandimalla of Marietta, Georgia, won a $10,000 scholarship.[2]
| State | Winner's Name | Grade | School | City/Town | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowell Van Ness | 8th | Bumpus Middle School | Hoover | ||
| Andrew Lee | 7th | Interior Distance Education of Alaska | Anchorage | ||
| Kelsey Schilperoort | 8th | Heritage Christian Home Educators | Prescott | Top 10 finalist | |
| Devin Matthews | 6th | Lake Area Homeschool Association | Drasco | ||
| Ryland Lu | 8th | Pressman Academy | Los Angeles | ||
| Autumn Hughes | 6th | Homeschooled | Wheat Ridge | Top 10 finalist | |
| Liam McCarthy | 8th | Middlesex Middle School | Darien | ||
| Matthew Heitmann | 8th | Gunning Bedford Middle School | New Castle | ||
| Husain Mogri | 8th | Bahrain School | Bahrain | ||
| Benjamin Geyer | 6th | British School of Washington | Washington, D.C. | ||
| John Kim | 7th | Oslo Middle School | Vero Beach | ||
| Yeshwanth Kandimalla | 8th | Simpson Middle School | Marietta | Third place | |
| Guthrie Angeles | 6th | Kaleiopuu Elementary School | Waipahu | ||
| Ryan Bovard | 7th | Jennifer Junior High School | Lewiston | ||
| Bonny Jain | 8th | Woodrow Wilson Middle School | Moline | 2006 champion | |
| Jonathan Hielkema | 7th | Highland Christian School | Highland | ||
| Drew Coffin | 8th | Northwest Junior High School | Coralville | Top 10 finalist | |
| Suneil Iyer | 6th | Havencroft Elementary School | Olathe | Top 10 finalist | |
| Matt Hensley | 8th | Beaumont Middle School | Lexington | ||
| Lee Winkler | 5th | Kehoe-France School | Metairie | ||
| Alexander Homer | 8th | Ellsworth Middle School | Ellsworth | ||
| James Plamondon | 8th | St. John Regional Catholic School | Frederick | ||
| Krishnan Chandra | 8th | West Middle School | Andover | Top 10 finalist | |
| Matthew Vengalil | 8th | Parcells Middle School | Grosse Pointe Woods | Top 10 finalist | |
| Simon Smedberg | 8th | Jefferson Community School | Minneapolis | ||
| Taide Ding | 5th | Central Elementary School | Oxford | ||
| Christopher Winston | 7th | Crestview Middle School | Ellisville | ||
| Hannah Goodman | 7th | Helena Area Christian Home Educators | Helena | ||
| Preston Bradley | 8th | Lux Middle School | Lincoln | ||
| Paige dePolo | 7th | Little Flower School | Reno | Top 10 finalist | |
| Neeraj Sirdeshmukh | 8th | Fairgrounds Middle School | Nashua | Second Place | |
| Evan Meltzer | 8th | Central Middle School | Stirling | ||
| Luis Baca | 6th | Albuquerque Academy | Albuquerque | ||
| Jonathan Katz | 8th | Scarsdale Middle School | Scarsdale | ||
| Michael Narup | 8th | Myrtle Grove Middle School | Wilmington | ||
| Conrad Eggers | 8th | Horizon Middle School | Bismarck | ||
| Nirbhay Jain | 7th | Ottawa Hills Junior High School | Toledo | ||
| Anthony Gonzalez | 8th | Centennial Middle School | Broken Arrow | ||
| Michael Ling | 6th | Meadow Park Middle School | Beaverton | ||
| Ian Farley | 7th | South Pacific Academy | Pago Pago | ||
| Michael Luo | 8th | Eagle View Middle School | Mechanicsburg | ||
| Francisco Vargas | 7th | St. John's School | San Juan | ||
| Laura Kulm | 8th | Archie Cole Middle School | East Greenwich | ||
| Andrew Brill | 8th | Anderson County Homeschoolers | Anderson | ||
| Joseph Knofczynski | 6th | Georgia Morse Middle School | Pierre | ||
| Mark Arildsen | 6th | University School of Nashville | Nashville | ||
| Jiawei Li | 7th | Beck Junior High | Katy | ||
| Jeffrey Bennett | 8th | Midvale Middle School | Midvale | ||
| Lucas Earl | 8th | Randolph Union Jr./Sr. High School | Randolph | ||
| José Antonio de la Peña | 7th | Families in Support of Home Education | Burke | ||
| Sean Marin | 8th | St. Croix Country Day School | St. Croix | ||
| Caitlin Snaring | 7th | Family Learning Center | Redmond | ||
| Joshua Hamrick | 8th | Webster Springs Middle School | Webster Springs | ||
| Oliver Buchino | 8th | Marshall Middle School | Marshall | ||
| James Mothersbaugh | 6th | Park Elementary School | Casper |