Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
1
Year:
2015
Type of Events Held:
- Exhibit
Target Audiences:
- Elementary school students(1-5)
- General Public
- High School students(9-12)
- Middle school students(6-8)
Approximate Number of People Reached:
300
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
Our program was titled “Brain Awareness Day at the Millcreek Mall.” Eleven undergraduates and two faculty, all from the Psychology Department, held an exhibit at a local mall on a Saturday from 11-3, when many families were shopping. There were activities such as mirror tracing and building candy neurons for elementary school and preschool-aged kids, as well as our mascot, Brainy the Robot. Brainy acted out brain function when kids threw a beanbag into a particular brain region, associating structure and function in a fun game. Older kids and adults experienced optical and auditory illusions and posters related to brain myths and comparative anatomy of brains. All events were stationed by students or faculty trained to discuss and explain at an age-appropriate level. Feedback from our visitors was overwhelmingly positive.
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Calendar Listings (newspapers, radio, television)
- Press Release/Media Advisory
- Social Media
- Other
Other Publicity Methods:
We simply held our event where all the people were- the mall.
Which of These Publicity Methods Was The Most Successful?
Resources
Of the Dana Foundation publications/resources distributed at your event(s), if any, please indicate the three most popular. Please choose up to three. If "other," please indicate below:
- More Mindbogglers!
- Staying Sharp Bookmark
- BAW Pencils and Erasers
What other downloadable materials would you like the Foundation to provide?
- Fact Sheets
- Activities/Experiments
Which BAW graphic materials did you use in publicizing your events?
- BAW Logos
- BAW Web site banner
Feedback & Keys to Success
How do you feel BAW participation benefited your organization and the local community?
Many teens took information about the brain and appeared to have an increased interest in neuroscience. Parent comments were entirely positive; they were thankful for an educational opportunity they don’t normally have.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
One major change this year was to assemble goody bags of BAW material (e.g., activity book, bookmark, pencil, button) and actively distribute them. We gave away all our promotional material quickly, where in the past we simply had the material on a table, most of it still there by the end.
Did/do you like our Facebook page?
No
