Brain Awareness Video Contest
The Brain Awareness Video Contest (BAVC) is an annual competition held by BrainFacts/the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) to showcase videos of entertaining and educational neuroscience concepts and activities.
Since the launch of the contest in 2011, BrainFacts has featured over 100 of these imaginative, brainy videos from contestants around the world.
Congratulations to the 2026 Brain Awareness Video Contest Winners!
- First Place: “Glial Cells: The Brain's Hidden Workforce” by Jiya Joshi
- Second Place: “Feeling Frequencies: How the Nervous System Detects Vibrations” by Zoe Sarafis and Duncan Forster
- Third Place: “Honey, I Shrunk the Kid’s Brain! The Science Behind Cerebral Atrophy” by Rose Gougenheim
- People's Choice: “Fast and Slow Time" by Denise Ching Yee Cheah
Prizes:
- First Place: $4,000 and complimentary registration to Neuroscience 2026 in Washington, DC.
- Second Place: $500
- Third Place: $250
- People's Choice: $500
Things to consider when crafting a great BAVC video:
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Be professional.
- Pay attention to grammar, lighting, and audio quality.
- Obtain permissions for material you do not own.
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Be concise.
- Keep it short and sweet. 50% of viewers tune out after three minutes.
- Know your audience.
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Be entertaining.
- Use humor, a snappy beat, and your creativity.
- Utilize your resources: White board drawings do well, and so do videos shot in the lab or other interesting settings.
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Be unique.
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Create a video that has not been done before.
- Check out previous videos from the Brain Awareness Video Contest.
- Think outside the box: Videos about surprising and quirky facts are popular.
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Come up with a catchy title.
- Accurately convey the video's content.
- Lists and questions tend to do well.
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Create a video that has not been done before.
Access resources for help obtaining royalty-free music and images for your video.
Check out more BrainFacts tips on how to create a winning BAVC video.
Brain Awareness Video Contest Tips by BrainFacts
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