11th Annual Brain Bee at C.W. Post Seeks
Sharp-Minded Long Island High School Students
Teen Competition to be held March 6

Brookville, N.Y. – Are you smarter than a high school student?

In what can be aptly described as putting the brainiest of brains to the test, Long Island high school students are invited to compete in a challenging academic contest that tests their knowledge of the human brain. The 11th annual Long Island University Brain Bee competition will be held on Saturday, March 6, 2010, at 9:30 a.m. in Hillwood Lecture Hall at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville.

To help challengers prepare for the quiz-show-style competition, three free preparatory workshops, led by C.W. Post Professors Barbara Bauer and Dr. Grace Rossi, will be held on Saturday, February 6, 2010, Saturday, February 20, 2010 and Saturday, February 27, 2010 from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon in the Kahn Discovery Center.

The workshops, which will provide reviews of neuroanatomy and neuroscience facts which form the basis of the Brain Bee questions, have been designed to help familiarize competitors with the format and material of the competition.

Eligibility for the competition is straightforward, but not easy: it’s open to all high school students who have read “Brain Facts,” a 65-page primer on the brain and nervous system. All questions at the Brain Bee come from the book, published by the Society for Neuroscience www.SFN.org and available for download on the Long Island University Brain Bee Web page at www.liu.edu/cwpost/brainbee.

Brain Bee finalists will receive trophies and prizes. The winner of the Long Island University Brain Bee and his/her chaperone receive air fare, hotel and meals to the National Brain Bee held at the University of Maryland, Baltimore on March 19 and 20, 2010.

The National Brain Bee Champion receives $3,000, the possibility of advancing to the International competition, and all expense-paid trip for two to San Diego, CA, to attend the 2010 Society for Neuroscience Convention on November 13-17, and individual trophy, a traveling trophy for his/her high school, and an opportunity to work in the lab of a famous neuroscientist during the summer. There will also be prizes for the second and third place winners.

The National and International Brain Bee competitions are part of Brain Awareness Week. Spearheaded by the Dana Alliance, a private philanthropic foundation, and the Society for Neuroscience, its goal is to motivate youth to learn about the brain and pursue careers in biomedical brain research in the war against mental retardation, cerebral palsy, spinal-cord injury and other brain disorders.

For more information on the workshops and to sign up for the Long Island University Brain Bee, contact Susan Ansbro at susan.ansbro@liu.edu or visit www.liu.edu/cwpost/brainbee.

Examples of Brain Bee Questions are as follows:

1. What is “agoraphobia”?
1. fear of heights
2. fear of farmers
3. fear of crowds
4. fear of homework
   
   
2. Which endocrine organ controls our “biological clock”?
1. casio-peia
2. temporal lobe
3. retina
4. pineal gland
   
   
3. What important function does the “cochlea” control?
1. sweating
2. hearing
3. eating
4. smelling

Answers to quiz: 1. c, 2. d, 3. b.

Posted: November 12, 2009