Google and Stanford Launch 'Polar Peaks' AI Quest on Brain Mapping

In the new quest, students take on the role of Google researchers and travel to the frontiers of neuroscience, scanning and mapping neurons in the brain to better understand a game character’s memory loss. They complete tasks including data cleaning and model testing, learning that AI requires careful human oversight and critical thinking, according to the blog post.

Polar Peaks is inspired by more than a decade of Google research in connectomics, the science of mapping neural networks in the brain. After completing the quest, students hear from two researchers behind Google’s real-world breakthroughs in the field, including the recent mapping of the complete fruit fly brain, which Google described as the largest brain map by number of neurons to date.

The AI Quests series has recorded more than 400,000 completed quests and is localized into 10 languages. Its first two quests address flood forecasting and eye disease detection, drawing on Google Research’s Flood Forecasting initiative and its AI model for diabetic retinopathy screening.

Alongside Polar Peaks, Google is releasing dedicated training modules for teachers within the Google AI Educator Series. The modules are intended to help educators reinforce key AI literacy concepts and use AI Quests for learning and discussion. Modules for Quest #1 and Quest #2 are accessible now, and the training module for Quest #3 will follow next month.

Earlier this year, AI Quests won a 2026 Webby Award for AI Education, Learning & Training and Best Global K–12 Learning Solution at the ETIH Innovation Awards. Google said it will continue working with educators and partners to bring more quests to more classrooms this school year.