Cooper Middle Student Wins Division Of National Science Bee

VIENNA, VA — A Cooper Middle School student won a division of the National Science Bee earlier in September.

Hridhaan Banerjee, now a seventh grade student at Cooper Middle School, won the six grade division. The Vienna area student placed first in the national competition after earning second in the eastern region in the regional finals. He initially entered and qualified as a sixth grader at Colvin Run Elementary School.

The National Science Bee is a buzzer-beater academic quiz on science topics for students in elementary, middle and high school students. Students entered through an online qualifying exam, and those who qualified moved onto the regional finals. The regional competition for the middle and elementary school divisions was held online in May, followed by the national competition in person at Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington Sept. 3. The competition drew 32 children from around the country.

Other Fairfax County winners in the National Science Bee included Aaryan Sumesh in the eighth grade division and Pratyush Jaishanker of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in the varsity division.

Banerjee has always been interested in science and has been curious about astronomy, atoms, dinosaurs and more since he was young, according to his parent Shajuti Majumdar. His strategy for success is not worrying how well he is doing while competing with his peers, allowing him to maintain his cool and keep trying.

"Hridhaan has always been very interested in STEM topics and has been doing really well in competitions like Science Olympiad, ACSL, various Math Tournaments etc., but a national championship boasts his confidence and motivates him to work harder," said Majumdar.

To prepare for the National Science Bee, Banerjee read books, watched science-based videos on YouTube, and joined after-school quiz activities. The quizzing activities with friends were fun and relaxing for him and allowed him to interact with kids amid social isolation from the pandemic, according to Majumdar. Aside from engaging in science activities, Banerjee enjoys reading fantasy books, and playing soccer, tennis and swimming for the neighborhood swim team.

The National Science Bee championships were held in conjunction with the championships of the National History Bee, National Humanities Bee, US Academic Bee, and International Geography Bee.