Project Brain Light

In aim of bringing interactive science foci to students from underrepresented backgrounds who may not readily receive such exposure, our first BAW event was held at Parkway Academy North in Wilmington, DE, where we organized a program centered on emotion and memory in the brain. We began with a brief overview of what is emotion and why it is important. We then described how emotion interacts with memory and the potential by which emotion can be regulated through effortful processes like reappraisal. For the grand finale, with the help of a professor here at University of Delaware, we were able to show students where these regions resided in the brain using an actual preserved brain and brain sections, in addition to comparing it alongside a sheep brain! We concluded by distributing DANA resources and materials and giving information on ways in which students can become more involved and access more neuroscience-related material. Our second event was held at Cunningham Community Center in Philadelphia, PA, where we focused on general brain organization and communication as well as possible paths one can pursue in neuroscience. With the help of Backyard Brains©, our graduate student team was able to set up stations where students, as well as parents, can listen to action potentials from a cockroach, watch a cockroach leg dance to music, control another person’s arm via human-human interface, view brain cells using a portable mini-scope, extract DNA from a strawberry, and compare how a human brain differs from a sheep’s brain! We again concluded by distributing DANA materials and giving information on how to become more involved and access more neuroscience-related material.

BAW participation was a major turning point in helping our project create a public profile as well as cultivating interest and enthusiasm in implementing more opportunities for community outreach. Everyone has been extremely supportive, from students to parents to faculty and staff, in light of advancing the project toward strengthening academia-community relations and increasing STEM-focused collaboration.