Brain Bee Outreach Visits
For schools located within reasonable driving distance of Iowa City, we offer classroom/school visits to encourage participation and engagement in the Iowa Brain Bee. For schools that are a greater distance away, we are offering virtual visits. Neuroscience graduate students can visit to talk about the Brain Bee and various neuroscience topics. These presentations are developed and delivered by volunteer PhD students at the University of Iowa. Each presentation lasts approximately 40 minutes, and we recommend scheduling an additional 10-15 minutes at the end for questions. Outreach visits are tailored to grade level and size of the group and can be modified to fit current course curriculum (e.g. biology, psychology, or advanced topics).
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A typical classroom visit may include:
Introduction to visitors
High-level neuroscience overview
Discussion of graduate student research
Iowa Brain Bee
Activities
Q&A session
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Activities:
Mock Brain Bee: to introduce students to the format of the competition, we can host a small mock-bee to get students interested!
Mirror tracing activity: in this fun and interactive activity, students learn about types of memory, and which brain areas are important for different aspects of memory.
Comparative neuroanatomy: students view brain specimens from different animals and learn about the similarities and differences in the brains, and how that translates to similarities and differences in animal behavior.
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Benefits of school visits include:
Introducing students to neuroscience in a fun and engaging way
Learning more about the Brain Bee competition and day events
Giving student the opportunity to meet with neuroscientists and ask about science careers
Please note that depending on the availability of the volunteers, certain visits may not be possible or will be altered.
To inquire about availability and request a visit, please contact the Neuroscience Graduate Program at grad-neuroscience@uiowa.edu.
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