Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
3
Year:
2015
Type of Events Held:
- Exhibit
- Open House
- Press Briefing
- Other: Themed children's storytime
Target Audiences:
- Elementary school students(1-5)
- General Public
- Middle school students(6-8)
- Other
- Other: Older adults
Approximate Number of People Reached:
150
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
Title: Brain Awareness Event at Phoebe Ministries Description: A series of brain- and mind-related demonstrations/exhibits at a local older adult residential facility. Objective/results: We were highly successful in achieving our goals of educating older adults about and share our enthusiasm with them for the brain, as well as building connections between generations. Title: Brain Party at the Bethlehem Area Public Library Description: A series of brain- and mind-related demonstrations/exhibits at a local library, aimed toward K-8 children and their families (open to anyone). Objectives/Results: Again, we consider this event to have been high successful–our goals were to expose children from a wide range of backgrounds (ethnicities, ages, gender, socioeconomic status, etc.) to the field of Neuroscience. Title: Norbit the Neuron Storytime Description: A brain-themed storytime, with books featuring the brain or the senses. Objectives: The objective here was to share the fun of learning about the brain and to make more intimate connections between local families and our students.
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Advertisements
- Calendar Listings (newspapers, radio, television)
- Emails
- Posters/Flyers
- Website
- Other
Other Publicity Methods:
Word of mouth/emails through specific organizations geared toward our demographic (e.g., girl scout troops).
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:
- It’s Mindboggling!
- More Mindbogglers!
- BAW Pencils and Erasers
- The Mindboggling Workbook
What downloadable materials from the Foundation did you use for your events?
- Puzzles: K-12
- Puzzles: BAW Favorites
- Mindboggling Coloring Sheets
What other downloadable materials would you like the Foundation to provide?
- Fact Sheets
- Activities/Experiments
- New Puzzles/Games
- New Coloring Sheets
Which BAW graphic materials did you use in publicizing your events?
- BAW Flyer
- BAW Logos
Feedback & Keys to Success
How do you feel BAW participation benefited your organization and the local community?
BAW participation allows us to connect with the larger community of individuals celebrating the brain. For example, the residential facility with which we paired for one event had also celebrated BAW in the past. This shared participation helped us forge our way to creating this new event this year. Having done this has opened up the potential for new connections with other residential facilities in the area, so we anticipate doing more events and creating more connections through this.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
One thing we wholeheartedly recommend is assessing the experience. At the minimum, keep a good count of how many people come through your event. This can help justify your event to those who may provide support. See if you can give a short survey asking for impressions of the event, to help you assess what aspects had a strong impact and what aspects could be improved. We always find this feedback from our participants to be very valuable.
Did/do you like our Facebook page?
No
Quotable comments which capture successful aspects of your event(s):
Brain Awareness Week gives a chance to build a bridge between younger generations and older ones in a whole new way. People of all ages find the brain fascinating--celebrating it together is a way to deepen our connections as a community.
