Teens buzz onto campus for annual Brain Bee competition
Jan. 30, 2012
As part of its outreach mission to educate youth in Worcester and the surrounding communities, the Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute (BNRI) at UMass Medical School will present the 6th Annual Central Massachusetts Regional Brain Bee on Saturday, Feb. 4, on the Worcester campus. A program of the Society for Neuroscience and the Dana Foundation, the Brain Bee is designed to educate teens about neuroscience and to encourage them to consider a career in a scientific field.
Area teens in grades nine through 12 will participate in the regional Brain Bee, a competition that include a written exam, a question-and-answer session about brain structure and function, identification of neurological disorders and a final round of oral questions. After the written exam, the 10 students with the highest scores will enter the round-robin elimination competition. The last student standing will receive the regional title and the Andrew M. Sheridan Young Neuroscientist Award. The winner will also compete at the National Brain Bee in Baltimore in March.
| | Sample Brain Bee questions 1. The brain is what percentage of total body weight? 2. What is the approximate total number of taste buds on the human tongue? 3. Give or take 100, how many disorders of the brain and nervous system are there? 4. Your brain is the consistency of . . . ? 5. The human brain consumes how many watts of power while awake? 6. Brain disease and disorders affect how many millions of Americans? For answers, visit the Department of Psychiatry’s Brain Bee website.
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Brain Bee sponsors include the Dana Foundation, UMMS and the BNRI, which is part of the Department of Psychiatry. The winner’s trip to the national competition, which occurs during Brain Awareness Week, will be funded by UMMS.
For more information, visit the Department of Psychiatry’s Brain Bee web page.
Related links on UMassMedNow:
Brain Bee buzzes with student neuroscience experts