Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
1
Year:
2018
Type of Events Held:
- Exhibit
Target Audiences:
- General Public
Approximate Number of People Reached:
100
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
I had a display of visual illusions with explanations explanations. The theme was “Your Fantastic but Fallible Brain”, with the goal of getting people to see how our “reality” is a construct of the brain, dependent on context and experience, and that the brain can be fallible in interpreting “external reality”. A further goal was to promote tolerance of one’s own and others’ fallibilities and different perspectives. Many people were stunned by the illusions, many had “Aha!” moments.
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Emails
- Social Media
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:
- Q&A: Answering Your Questions About The Brain
- Brain-shaped Erasers
- Staying Sharp: Successful Aging and the Brain
What other downloadable materials would you like the Foundation to provide?
- Activities/Experiments
Which BAW graphic materials did you use in publicizing your events?
- BAW Facebook Cover Photo
Feedback & Keys to Success
How do you feel BAW participation benefited your organization and the local community?
BAW events are a great opportuinity for public outreach, and the Dana Foundation material is very helpful in engaging the public and giving them something for follow-up.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
It is helpful to have a clewarly stated “What is the point of this display” to help the public get the most out of a presentation. For me, a banner with “your Fantastic but Fallible Brain” was more helpful than a previous banner that read “Visual Illusions”; or an exhibit with “Build a neuron” (fusing pipecleaners etc.) would have benefitted from “Learn about the different parts of brain cells”, for example.
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