Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
2
Year:
2016
Type of Events Held:
- Exhibit
- Other
- Other: Brain Bee
Target Audiences:
- General Public
- High School students(9-12)
- University students
Approximate Number of People Reached:
100 for Brain Bee; 1000+ for library poster
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
Brain Bee: The fifth annual Alaska Brain Bee was held Saturday February 6, 2016, in the auditorium of the Anchorage Museum. This year’s Brain Bee winner was Jessica Reisinger, a junior at Wasilla High School, who represented AK at the National Bee. To help promote the Brain Bee’s mission of “building better brains to fight brain disorders”, this year’s Bee began with activity stations exploring different themes in neuroscience. UAA Neurophysiology students led the activities as part of the service learning component of their course. Activities included sheep brain dissections, nervous system microscopy, smell vs. taste tests, patellar reflex circuitry modeling, a concussion case study, facial electromyography and Neuro-Jeopardy. Following lunch, the students competed and the awards were given out. This was the most successful Brain Bee so far, and our objectives to reach local high school students as well as the general public were reached. UAA Consortium Library poster: Throughout the weeks of Mar 7-Mar 22, Brain Awareness week was highlighted with a poster in the University of Alaska Anchorage Consortium library, made by UAA student, Madlen Penn, as part of her commitment to service learning for her BIOL 413 Neurophysiology course. Along with materials supplied by the DANA Alliance, books on traumatic brain injury and brain research were displayed for the public. Thousands of people walk by this area and many will share the DANA materials with loved ones.
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Advertisements
- 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
- BAW Buttons
What other downloadable materials would you like the Foundation to provide?
- Activities/Experiments
- New Coloring Sheets
Which BAW graphic materials did you use in publicizing your events?
- BAW Logos
Feedback & Keys to Success
How do you feel BAW participation benefited your organization and the local community?
UAA needs to do more public outreach in science, and this is a very direct way to have many people participate and see how accessible understanding the brain can be. Immediate outcomes: contacted by news media about the Brain Bee.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
This year I ordered more materials because I ran out in previous years. You can keep extras but you can’t hand out materials you don’t have!
Did/do you like our Facebook page?
No
