Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
2
Year:
2017
Type of Events Held:
- Exhibit
- Lecture/ Briefing
- Symposium
Target Audiences:
- Elementary school students(1-5)
- General Public
- High School students(9-12)
- Middle school students(6-8)
- Professionals
- University students
Approximate Number of People Reached:
1500
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
Visitors to the Kentucky Science Center had the opportunity to visit more than 20 interactive stations, giving them the opportunity to: See brains and nervous systems from various animals (including a real human brain); see how big a dinosaur neuron was versus animals that live today; learn about electrophysiology and action potentials; learn about brain surgery and deep brain stimulation; learn the cutting edge tools that we use to study neuroscience; learn about spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury, and the pioneering research being done right here at the University of Louisville to treat these conditions; play an interactive game with an Xbox Kinect, test their reflexes, build a spinal cord, and race the clock to assemble a spinal cord puzzle; learn about brains of our ancestors; discover how to hack their brain by altering their visual perception, and see lots of neat illusions; learn how to keep their brain safe by using a helmet, learn the proper rules of the road on our Bicycle Rodeo, and see masks painted by individuals who have traumatic brain injuries. For the younger crowd, we had color brains and neurons, fashion-your-brain, and build-a-neuron stations. We also held our 27th annual Neuroscience Day at the University for Louisville. Among the events at Neuroscience Day, we had a DataBlitz, a poster competition, and several seminars highlighting the exciting research being done by our chapter. Michael Caterina (M.D., Ph.D.), Professor of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, served as our plenary speaker.
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Advertisements
- Calendar Listings (newspapers, radio, television)
- Emails
- Posters/Flyers
- Press Release/Media Advisory
- Social Media
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:
- Q&A: Answering Your Questions About Brain Research
- BAW Pencils and Erasers
- The Mindboggling Workbook
Which BAW graphic materials did you use in publicizing your events?
- BAW Logos
- BAW Facebook Cover Photo
Feedback & Keys to Success
How do you feel BAW participation benefited your organization and the local community?
Provides an annual world-wide event to bolster enthusiasm and support from our chapter, University, and local community. Collectively we had 23 groups participate in the events, and 100 volunteers, who volunteered well over 400 hours of service over three days (not including planning time). It was good for building collaborations, and camaraderie within our group, and gave trainees the opportunity to talk about their research with the public. Community learned a lot about the nervous system.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
If your aim is to have a large event, try to be inclusive by inviting other groups in your community to not only participate in your event, but help with the planning itself. You of course need one primary person in charge, but the more people invested in the event, the more likely the event will have a successful outcome.
Did/do you like our Facebook page?
Yes
