Child Genius (Australia) - First Season

A lot of the kids at my school do not like study, but I do.

For more than a decade, Australia's education performance

has been declining on the world stage.

As a nation, we pride ourselves on our sporting excellence

while academic achievements are often overlooked.

P-E-R...

Now, for the first time ever,

children have gathered from across the country...

I think my IQ is higher than Albert Einstein.

..in a contest to find Australia's brightest child.

246. The top row.

Hundreds took part in a rigorous testing process.

Just 19 were selected.

When you're ready.

I feel like my brain's going to blow up.

Overseen by Australian Mensa, with quizmaster Dr Susan Carland...

You are going to smash this!

..they'll take on the mind-boggling questions.

The Rory Cooper's false antechinus is part of which family?

Potoroidae?

Macropodidae.

Oh, no!

Over six days of competition...

You have to be perfect in order to survive.

It's, like, gone!

..tackling a variety of subjects...

One small mistake, that's it, you're out!

..these remarkable children...

Your spelling's pretty advanced, isn't it?

Otorhinolaryngology.

..and their parents...

They're all in it to win it.

Seven's the lucky number!

..will bring their brilliance...

X and + X so that's + 2X.

I didn't teach him that, I don't know where he learnt it from!

..and their bravery.

You don't know how proud I am!

When I'm with a group of young, bright minds like mine,

everyone accepts each other.

It's incredible. I love it.

In a competition designed to celebrate

our young and beautiful minds...

Yeah, I definitely want to get that trophy!

..only one will be crowned Child Genius Australia.

Today is the first of six tough days of competition.

Blah-blah!

What is frictional force?

Potassium, rubidium, caesium, francium.

Even though I'm one of the youngest, I will battle for the brightest.

19 bright and gifted children have arrived with their families

from all over Australia.

Some of the people think, "Whoa, you're from Darwin?

"That's crazy! That's really cool!"

You're up against the best.

Yeah, I think everybody's in it to win it.

We are feeling a little nervous after not much...

"We"? The royal 'we'!

"We"?

Every parent hopes it will be their child who takes home the trophy.

Mother Earth keep them under their wing and keep them safe.

And know, Amy and Maxwell,

give them the knowledge that we love them no matter what happens.

Can you measure the capacity?

Carbon dioxide.

At the end of the day, where do you see yourself? Third.

Wow!

Why third? Why not first?

The competitors are about to face their first demanding challenge.

What is the chemical symbol for water?

H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O. No, it's H2O.

Each day there will be two rounds.

Today is science and memory recall.

OK, we're ready. We can do it.

At the end of the day,

the two children with the lowest scores will be knocked out.

I'm so nervous and so excited.

But some have other things on their mind.

What happened? What have you done?

My tooth fell out! Oh, really?

Into an apple.

And then into a stomach!

Morning! How are you all feeling?

Are you the quizmaster? I'm the quizmaster!

Taking on the role of quizmaster is Dr Susan Carland.

With multiple degrees and a PhD,

she will guide the children through the competition.

We have the brightest kids in Australia competing,

not just to show their smarts,

but to show their ability to perform under pressure.

It is so exciting!

I'll see you in there and remember, you are going to smash this!

OK, guys?

Bye!

Ready?

And go!

Welcome to the very first-ever Child Genius,

the competition to find Australia's brightest young minds.

Please give a huge round of applause for all our competitors.

And joining me on the adjudicating panel today

we have Jane Allen from the International Quizzing Association.

She's our competition adjudicator.

It's important for people to understand

I'm completely independent

and my role involves making sure

that the questions are answered correctly

and that the children are all treated fairly and equally on the show.

And Alan Thompson, our Australian Mensa representative.

This competition was designed to be super challenging.

You've got exceptionally gifted children

who sit in the 99.99th percentile

in terms of capacity and ability

but it's going to be interesting to see

whether they can do language and science and maths

and memory at once.

The first round is science.

You each have three minutes to answer a maximum of 13 questions.

You can pass up to three times.

After that, you must attempt to answer the question

to the best of your ability.

So if you don't know, take a guess.

Come to the podium, Nathan.

Nathan's been entered into Child Genius by his mum, Leanne.

Hi, Nathan. Hello.

Ready to go? Yeah.

This 12-year-old from Brisbane hopes his love of facts

will give him an edge.

On Wednesday, there was a solar storm... Yep.

..and it made auroras visible as far north as Melbourne.

He has so much going on in his head,

any willing recipient, he's happy to share his facts.

Best viewing place, the southernmost place you can get in Tasmania. Oh, really?

I do have a reputation for knowing a lot of facts, yes.

I know facts about time, space, sport, black holes,

and fourth dimension, quantum entanglement.

I just know that's going to drain my brain even trying.

I know but... And yet I liked maths at school.

The thing is, your brain, technically, can't get drained.

Like many gifted children,

Nathan surprised his parents with his early development.

The first moment was when he was five months old

and he said hello to me, which was quite a shock.

I didn't realise he was talking.

I'm like, "It's only me and the baby!"

Obviously, in relation to giftedness,

I think people are born like that.

And I think where the nurture comes in

is being able to give them an environment where they can flourish.

Now in Year 8 at school, Nathan's been accelerated into Year 11 maths.

Nathan, take us through the expansion.

So we expand the brackets, so we do 4 x 2X and 4 x -1.

So that's 8X - 4.

Being so far ahead of the pack has come with challenges for Nathan.

I haven't played this version. You have, Dad.

It hasn't been easy to find like-minded friends of his own age.

Yeah, being smart can have a negative impact sometimes

when you talk about maths and stuff and they don't like it

and they just say, "You know what, you're not the right person for me."

Even though they're the right person for me,

I'm not the right person for them, which has made it a bit difficult.

Leanne and Paul hope the competition might open new doors

for their clever son.

His friends may not always have been able to appreciate his quirkiness

and so the prospect of seeing other kids like Nathan

that he could interact with is really important to us.

Let's do this.

Both Mum and Grandma are anxious to see if Nathan can conquer science.

What name is given to the vertical columns of elements in the periodic table?

Groups. Correct.

What is the alternative name for vitamin C?

Pass.

For me, it's quite a confronting experience.

We actually don't know accurately what his IQ is,

so I don't really know his capability.

Which international system, or SI unit,

can be used to measure energy or work?

Joules. Correct.

This competition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

to help him really extend himself to his potential.

In plants, which tissue separates the xylem and the phloem?

The cambium. Correct.

How long in Earth days

is a year on Venus?

225. Correct.

5 billion. Correct.

Saturn and Neptune. Correct.

Third. Correct.

Nathan's strong start has impressed the other competitors.

What was the name of China's lunar rover

that arrived on the moon with the Chang'e 3 spacecraft in 2013?

Yutu. Correct.

Congratulations, Nathan. You have scored 9 points in that round.

He seemed fairly comfortable.

You know, a little bit awkward but... (GIGGLES)

I'm very proud of him having a go.

Adam, come to the podium.

How will the remaining competitors hold up

against Nathan's impressive score of 9?

You've got your thinking hat on.

I'm partial to a head covering myself. You're looking great!