Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
A two-day event
Year:
2017
Type of Events Held:
- Exhibit
- Other
- School Program
- Other: Public family & kids event
Target Audiences:
- Elementary school students(1-5)
- General Public
- High School students(9-12)
- Middle school students(6-8)
- Other: Parents and children
Approximate Number of People Reached:
600
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
The Oklahoma Neuroscience Chapter hosted a two-day event at the Science Museum Oklahoma. The event was titled: “Neuroscientist for a day” and took place on April 8 & 9, 2017. Our goal was to inform parents, teachers and children about the brain, neuroscience and being a neuroscientist. The experience started with the participants receiving a bag, a thank you note with sponsor logos and a card with 10 stations to be marked after they experienced it. Stations included coloring stations with coloring sheets about brain health, cartoon video for toddlers, tape and scissors to make a brain hat, crossword puzzles about neuroscience for each age group, interactive stations that involved a robotic arm, human-human interface, listening to the muscles, prism goggle target practice, temperature sensitive mutant drosophila, jelly bean taste challenge, visual perception and an EEG hat. Our biggest hit was the human brain station, where participants got to see the brain and touch parts of it. We also had the Meet the Neuroscientist stations that included a microscope to see stained brain sections, as well as fixed brains and eyes from 3 different species that participants could study with a magnifying glass. we also had a powerpoint presentation with interesting facts about the brain played. At the end, neuroscientists talked to the participants about the take home message of the function of the brain, what neuroscientists do at work and how they must protect the brain. The experience ended with a certificate with their name, prizes (brain pencil toppers and pencils), and workbooks from the Dana foundation. Our event was successful thanks to our sponsors and volunteers. We also had a few participants who want to become neuroscientists
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Advertisements
- Calendar Listings (newspapers, radio, television)
- Emails
- Posters/Flyers
- Website
- 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:
- It’s Mindboggling!
- BAW Pencils and Erasers
- Staying Sharp: Successful Aging and the Brain
What downloadable materials from the Foundation did you use for your events?
- Q&A: Answering Your Questions About Brain Research
- BAW Certificate of Participation
- Puzzles: Grades K-2
- Puzzles: Grades 3-5
- Puzzles: Grades 6-8
- Puzzles: Grades 9-12
- Puzzles: BAW Favorites
- Mindboggling Coloring Sheets
- Brain Briefs Fact Sheets
- Kids Fact Sheets Grades 3-5
- Kids Fact Sheets Grades 6-8
What other downloadable materials would you like the Foundation to provide?
- Fact Sheets
- Lesson Plans
- Activities/Experiments
- New Puzzles/Games
- New Coloring Sheets
Which BAW graphic materials did you use in publicizing your events?
- BAW Flyer
- BAW Logos
- BAW Poster
- BAW Web site banner
- BAW Facebook Cover Photo
Feedback & Keys to Success
How do you feel BAW participation benefited your organization and the local community?
On our first day, a school day, there were more than 300 school students that came through our experience with their school field trips. We made connections with some teachers and provided some of the handouts for them to have interactive activities in their classes. On the second day, a weekend, we had families come together and more than 250 children participated with their parents. The feedback we received from the parents was great and they became more aware of our resources and programs.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
Coordinating with sponsors should start very early on, at least 6 months before the event. It is never too early to start planning. Coordinating with volunteers needs at least 2 people dedicated to that. Many volunteers had change of plans at the end, so planning for extra volunteers will always keep things running smoothly. Having our event at the Science museum Oklahoma was a great choice because their staff helped us in every step of the way.
Did/do you like our Facebook page?
Yes
Was the information provided on Facebook useful?
Yes, it was super helpful! Thank you for all you do!
