Faculty of Medicine Osijek – Section for neuroscience Osijek

Main goal of this year’s BAW was to highlight the importance of play and balance in both child’s development and our everyday lives. Our lecturers explained the mechanisms that provide us the ability to maintain balance, we took a look at the most interesting examples of movement coordination. We studied play – it’s role in early development, the reasons we play, and different forms of play in childhood and adult life. We discussed the challenges these postcovid times put in front of us, as well. Younger participants took part in our workshops where they had the chance to test their own balance on playground, learn to climb and explore balance and play in the world of animals. Many more workshops were held in classrooms where children learned about the main principles and structures involved in maintaining balance. The older ones had the chance to test their knowledge in our quiz, discuss the role of play in science caffe and put their game strategies to test during board game night. Two conferences were held for professionals – for kindergarten teachers and for biologists.

This year, participating in Brain Awareness Week has helped to educate the general public on topics that are often overlooked in everyday life. Play and balance are both fun and important topics to discuss, while reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic can help us evaluate our actions during pandemic. To our institution, this is another great project that reflects its quality while all of our students get a chance to gain experience and learn something new.

This year’s topic reminded us that play truly is the best way to learn and that can be applied in many different areas – from children in school to adults in the academic world. Participating in such activities can help us cope with everyday challenges and stressful situations.