New Zealand's brightest young minds compete for Brain Bee award

The annual New Zealand Brain Bee Challenge gets under way this month (28 June) at The University of Auckland

More than 150 Year 11 students from secondary schools all over the North Island will be converging at the University’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences to compete for the illustrious title.

The winner will then take on the best brains from the South Island and together with the Australian states will compete at the National Australia - New Zealand Brain Bee Challenge, which will be held as part of a large international neuroscience conference in the Gold Coast, Queensland in January 2012.

The Challenge consists of both team and individual competitions and tests the students on the wonders of the brain. Topics include intelligence, memory, emotions, stress, ageing, sleep, and disease such as addiction, Alzheimer’s and stroke.

Apart from testing their grey matter, the students will also visit laboratories within the Faculty and Centre for Brain Research to do hands-on experiments and talk with neuroscientists and graduate students.

Professor Louise Nicholson, who is organising the challenge, says: “The Brain Bee Challenge is a wonderful opportunity for the students and their teachers to work together to learn more about the human brain and the importance of neuroscience in our everyday lives.

“This is an important area of science. With our ageing population it is vital that we have an understanding of the impact that diseases of the Central Nervous System (brain and spinal cord) have on the health and economic status of New Zealand and New Zealanders themselves.

“Also neuroscience is an exciting area of modern science and can be tremendous fun.”

Professor Nicholson says that while the Brain Bee is a competition to identify the “best brains” in New Zealand it is also an opportunity to address some of the key competencies in the science curriculum with a strong focus on science communication.


Notes
The New Zealand Brain Bee Challenge, launched in 2007, encourages high school students to take an interest in the human brain and neuroscience.

The competition is held in three stages. Initially, schools run an online multiple choice quiz during Brain Awareness Week in March to determine their Brain Bee challengers. The Round Two (North and South Island competition) are held at The University of Auckland and the University of Otago, with individuals competing for a place at the National Australia-New Zealand Brain Bee Final held in conjunction with the Australian Neuroscience Society meeting. The National Brain Bee Challenge winner then has the opportunity to compete in the International Brain Bee Final. This year it will be held in Florence, Italy in conjunction with the International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO).

The 2010 overall individual Brain Bee Champion was Rachael Wiltshire from Samuel Marsden Collegiate in Wellington, while Auckland Grammar took out the 2010 team title.

www.nzbbc.ac.nz

Notes

BBC Round 2 2011 Schools List

ACG Parnell College
Auckland Grammar School
Auckland International College
Birkenhead College
Carmel College
Chilton St James School
Diocesan School For Girls
Elim Christian College
Epsom Girls' Grammar School
Francis Douglas Memorial College
Green Bay High School
Hamilton Boys' High School
Hamilton Girls' High School
Kelston Girls' College
Kristin School
Lynfield College
Massey High School
Matamata College
Mt Roskill Grammar School
Napier Girls' High School
Northcote College
Onewhero Area school
Orewa College
Palmerston North Boys' High School
Papatoetoe High School
Rangitoto College
Sacred Heart College
Samuel Marsden Collegiate School - Karori
Scots College
St Cuthbert's College A Team
B Team
St John's College (Hillcrest)
St Kentigern College
St Paul's Collegiate (Hamilton)
St Peter's College
St Peter's School (Cambridge)
Tauhara College
Waiuku College
Wanganui Girls' College
Westlake Boys' High School
Westlake Girls' High School A Team
B Team
C Team
Wellington College
Wellington Diocesan School For Girls (Nga Tawa)
Wellington High School & Com Ed Centre
Whangarei Boys High School