Baylor University

1. Exhibits Throughout the Museum – Graduate students and undergraduate students from the Department of PSY/NSC and Biology at Baylor held their own exhibits throughout the week with topics ranging from Zika virus to what scientists look like to memory. The objective was to engage young children coming through the museum and have them take away one small snippet of information from each station. It seemed that goals were acheived – for example, children learned that scientists don’t always take the form of the crazy male scientists with beakers and exploding objects, as assessed from the pictures they drew. 2. Stress on the Brain: Outcomes and Recovery – Professors and graduate students from the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience led a discussion on their research including: alcohol use on the brain, outcomes of traumatic brain injuries, suicide, and mental health stigma. The objective of this discussion was to engage the older guests at the museum and talk about healthy living and increase understanding of mental illness. Participants seemed highly engaged. 3. Professors and graduate students from the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience led a discussion on their research including: sleep disturbances and memory, how memory works, and how environmental factors influence memory. The objective of this discussion was to engage the older guests at the museum and talk about healthy living and increase understanding of the importance of sleep and good diet on memory processes. Participants seemed highly engaged.

For our organization, the faculty and students in the department really enjoyed talking about their passion with the community and came away feeling like they had shared this with many individuals. For the community, children told many of the students they wanted to be neuroscientists when they grow up. Even if this were not true, I believe this demonstrated a peaked interest in how the brain functions.