Gebze Technical University

In this year’s event, faculty members from different universities have visited TED Istanbul College Nursery (60 students), Utopya Private Primary and Secondary School (80 students) Gebze Technical University nursery (20 students), TED Istanbul Secondary School (6th graders, 80 students), students from various schools gathered at Sancaktepe Science and Experiment Center (80 students), and students from Sile area at the Forest School of Sile (80 students), increasing our outreach to around 400 students. Faculty members had given a brief presentation (5-10 min, depending on the level of students) on their research area, including brain imaging, neuroscience, neurobiology, and learning. Prof. Dr. Isil Kurnaz (project coordinator) is a Molecular Neurobiologist at Gebze Technical University and Asst. Prof. Gulayse Ince Dunn is a Molecular and Developmental Neurobiologist at Koc University; they have talked to students about “neurons” (with their “hair” or dendrites, and their “arms” or axons) and neuron networks. Prof. Dr. Kemal Turker is a neuroanatomist at Koc University; they have talked to students about the lobes of the brain, how the brain can be “fooled” by optical illusions etc. Asst. Prof. Esin Ozturk Isik is a Biomedical Engineer at Bogazici University, and Dr. Zeynep Fırat is a Radiologist at Yeditepe University Hospital; they showed the kids what brain imaging is and how the doctors “take pictures or movies” of the brain.

Students of the local community had a chance to see various disciplines studying the brain, also were exposed to female researchers as role models. The Neuroscience Society of Turkey and GTU has also benefited from the feedback of participants. We now have a folder of activitiy materials in Turkish, and have mobilized the neuroscience community towards more outreach activities – the NS of Turkey has now established a BAW committee