For Immediate Release Contact: Barbara K. Laskin
December 2, 2003 Doug Stone
(651) 696-6203

Neuroscience Fair for Kids at Macalester December 6

St. Paul, Minn. - Elementary school children from the Twin Cities will judge exhibits and presentations by Macalester College students during the second annual Kids Judge! Neuroscience Fair beginning at 9:00 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 6, in the Olin-Rice Science Center on Macalester's campus.

Over 100 fourth, fifth and sixth graders from the American Indian Family Center and the American Indian Magnet School in St. Paul, and Heart of the Earth Center for American Indian Education and the Anishinabe Academy in Minneapolis will judge 70 Macalester students' exhibits and presentations on how the brain processes information such as language, pain sensitivity and visual perception in the college's introduction to neuroscience studies class, "Brain, Mind and Behavior." The younger students will evaluate each exhibit and vote on the best presentation at the end of the fair.

"The fair allows younger children to interact with college students and professors, but it also exposes them to concepts that are not usually covered in grade-school science curriculums," said Eric Wiertelak, Macalester psychology professor and director of the college's Neuroscience Studies Program. He also leads the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience, an international organization that
focuses on neuroscience education and research at the undergraduate
level.

Macalester is the only college in Minnesota to participate in the Kids Judge! Fair, a competition that began 10 years ago. The program is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of the National Institutes of Health. Sponsors include the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience, Brain Awareness Week Partners in Education and the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives.

Macalester College is a private liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of 1,851 students. Macalester is nationally recognized for its commitment to academic excellence, internationalism, diversity and service to society.