Michigan State University Neuroscience Program

Brain Bee Workshops and Competition: We held workshops to teach high school students about the anatomy of the brain and disease of the nervous system in order to help prepare them for our local Brain Bee competition on January 31st. The winner, Amy Li, went on to compete at the national level. Brain Awareness Week School Visits: Students brought human and animal brains and experiments to 33 classrooms during Brain Awareness week. This sparked much interest in neuroscience, as evidenced by some of these students bringing their families to our Neuroscience Fair at the end of Brain Awareness Week. Neuroscience Fair: On March 21st, visitors of all ages were invited to participate in thirty-one free and interactive activities, including cow eye dissections, exploring the inside of a giant brain, assembling a brain puzzle, and creating helmets. Over 100 students and faculty volunteered and over 500 visitors attended. Comments that we received support that our goals of creating a fun and educational event for families were achieved. “Great program! Really great exposure to neuroscience for our young girls.” “Excellent! Kept our attention for 3 hours. We’ll be back next year.” “Great job! Loved introducing my children to science in this way.” “Very informative. Thank you!” “Great event! Nice variety. MSU students did a great job at the stations, very patient and knowledgeable! Thanks!” “Great events. We were entertained and learned the entire time.”

We received positive feedback from visitors to our fair an teachers. Every year, we have numerous inquiries from those interesting in upcoming events. These events also gave our neuroscience community an opportunity to hone their communication skills and spread their joy of science to the public.