Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
6
Year:
2015
Type of Events Held:
- Conference/Forum
- Exhibit
- Workshop
Target Audiences:
- University students
Approximate Number of People Reached:
450
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
Our’s was a three day event that included presentations, panels, workshops and an interactive brain exhibition dubbed the “Mind Space”. Events included: Viewing of “Alive Inside” Documentary – Film showing with discussion that followed. Very strong positive feedback that enouraged us to end up with 3 showings (versus the one originally scheduled). “Brain Injury: Voices of Loss, Hope and Healing” – Presentation by Brain Injury Rehabilitation Team from Harris Methodist Hospital, Fort Worth. Included on the panel was a Brain Injury Survivor. Very positive feedback in response to more people understanding *what* a brain injury is and the neuroplasticity of the brain, as well as what life was like for both the survivor and his family. “The Good Friday Experiment” – Discussion on Panke & Leary’s 1963 experiment. Learning and the Brain Workshops – offered two for students only and two for faculty only. There was also an interactive brain experience room (“Mind Space”) – Human brains; sheep brains; models of brains; art work from current students in conjunction with the viewing of the Alive Inside Documentary; books; posters; brain food; giveways, etc. Since this was our first attempt to host this, our goal was really to just create *some* sort of brain awareness on our campus. Through anecdotal feedback we felt like we accomplished that with many people encouraging us to do this again next year – bigger and better.
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Calendar Listings (newspapers, radio, television)
- Emails
- Posters/Flyers
- Other
Other Publicity Methods:
Verbal announcements in classes and faculty meetings.
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
- The Mindboggling Workbook
What downloadable materials from the Foundation did you use for your events?
- Q&A: Answering Your Questions About Brain Research Downloads
What other downloadable materials would you like the Foundation to provide?
- Fact Sheets
- Activities/Experiments
Which BAW graphic materials did you use in publicizing your events?
- BAW Logos
- BAW Web site banner
Feedback & Keys to Success
How do you feel BAW participation benefited your organization and the local community?
Having the items BAW supplied to distribute was key for us. We did not have a large budget, so any items that we could give out helped us get more people into our conference.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
Keeping it small at first is key. If we had tried anything more this first year, I think we would have been completely overwhelmed. Also having a variety of activities seemed to garner more interest.
Did/do you like our Facebook page?
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