Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
2
Year:
2015
Type of Events Held:
- Symposium
- TV Show
Target Audiences:
- General Public
Approximate Number of People Reached:
280
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
We organized a group of faculty, students, and technicians from The University of Mississippi Medical Center and Millsaps College to visit Brown Elementary School and interact with 1st and 5th graders. We set up five stations and provide each elementary student with a card that had their schedule printed on it so that we could punch the card after each station visit. The stations follow. 1. Students viewed a neuron through a microscope then built their own versions with pipe cleaners and pompoms; 2. Students could watch a video of MRI images, a person with an EEG headset, and a collection of animal brains, each showed the students how we measure brains in different ways; 3. Students looked through viewmasters with many 3D disks to demonstrate stereoscopy and depth perception; 4. Students were shown optical illusions including the “hole-in-the-hand” illusion where they looked through a pipe next to their hand; 5. Students built and wore paper brain hats and then extended the activity in the classroom where teachers had stickers to help them personalize their hats with parts of their cortex most important to them. We worked with 25 5th graders and 40 1st graders who enjoyed the pencils, brain erasers, pins, and workbooks. We then took the most popular stations to Discovery U, and event coordinated by our graduate school at the Mississippi Children’s Museum where 230 additional people came through and learned about the brain alongside other areas from microbiology to anatomy.
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Emails
- Press Release/Media Advisory
Other Publicity Methods:
We coordinated events specific to the groups we targeted. We did not have an open-to-the-public event.
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:
- BAW Pencils and Erasers
Which BAW graphic materials did you use in publicizing your events?
- BAW Logos
Feedback & Keys to Success
How do you feel BAW participation benefited your organization and the local community?
We, as scientists, have an obligation to spread information to the community. Misinformation is everywhere and must be countered tactfully with evidence and facts. This event helps us to practice that skill. The kids we visited should also see that science is something they can do if they are interested. In many communities, those doors are often perceived as closed to them.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
Good organization combined with at least several weeks of lead-time makes a big difference. Logistics questions continue to arise after you thought you’d nailed everything down.
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