Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
4
Year:
2022
Type of Events Held:
- Lab Tour
- Other
- School Program
- Social Media Campaign
- Other: Podcast
Target Audiences:
- General Public
- High school students (9-12)
- University students
Approximate Number of People Reached:
880
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
The objective of our school program was to provide education to high school students on the brain, neural control of movement, and the effect of exercise on brain health. Activities took take place over six weeks:
Preparation (Weeks 1-3). The school program was incorporated into courses in the Seattle University MS Kinesiology program. Graduate students learned about their target audience and designed teaching activities for their assigned high school classroom.
In-Person Session 1 (Week 4). Graduate student groups visited high school classrooms to lead educational activities on the brain, neural control of movement, and scientific techniques to examine the brain (e.g., MRI). High school students visited a Makerspace on the Seattle University campus to learn about designing 3D brain models from MRI images.
In-Person Session 2 (Week 5). Graduate students returned to their assigned high school classrooms to teach students about brain structures impacted by exercise and how exercise can positively influence brain function. Students were given a tour of the Kinesiology Mobile Laboratory where they participated in demonstrations of electromyography and ultrasound to examine the neuromuscular system. The Brain Awareness Week Certificate of Participation was presented to all high school students.
In addition to the school program, we hosted a live interview featuring a guest who spoke to brain awareness and brain science. The interview was published as a podcast on Podbean and Spotify. We also ran a social media campaign utilizing the Seattle University Kinesiology Department’s social media accounts and distributed posters to publicize our activities and provide information on the brain and Brain Awareness Week.
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Emails
- Posters/Flyers
- Website
- Social Media
Which of These Publicity Methods Was The Most Successful?
Resources
What downloadable materials from the Foundation did you use for your events?
- Certificate of Participation
What other downloadable materials would you like the Foundation to provide?
- New Fact Sheets
- Activities/Experiments
Which BAW graphic materials did you use in publicizing your events?
- Brain Awareness Week Logos
Feedback & Keys to Success
How do you feel BAW participation benefited your organization and the local community?
Participation in Brain Awareness Week fostered enthusiasm for the brain in a diverse population of high school students. High school students were engaged in the activities, especially the Kinesiology Mobile Lab tour and 3D printing at the Makerspace. Additionally, the project provided the opportunity for our graduate students to share their knowledge about brain health and challenged them to develop innovative activities around brain health for high school students.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
1. Involve students in the process, if possible. Students in the Seattle University Kinesiology program assisted with many parts of this program (e.g., high school activities, brainstorming interview questions, etc.). It was neat to watch these students become invested in and excited about the success of this program. Many of these students reflected that being involved was impactful, increased enthusiasm for brain science, and that this was beneficial for future studies and career objectives.
2. Utilize Brain Awareness Week resources. There are many great resources on the Brain Awareness Week website that we used in our programming. For example, we included Brain Awareness Week logos and hashtags on our social media posts and posters. There were also many lesson plans that helped in brainstorming.
