University of Arizona

We participated in the Science City section of the annual Tucson Festival of Books. The Festival attracted about 130,000 people of the course of the 2-day weekend event. The goal was to provide multiple hands-on activities about the brain. Partnering with the Center for Neuroscience (a large neuro medical practice), which has Brain Bus for outreach activities, and with the Tucson Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience, we put together a booth that had 12 different activities (including an aphasia demo, concussion info and concussion googles, a TBI station with a representative from the Brain Injury Association, prism glasses to show active learning, a brain zoo including the human brain and spinal cord, a supertaster demo, proprioception, several somatosensory activities, a kids’ table to make pipe cleaner neurons, an electrophysiology station with a “brain” that allowed people to find neuronal receptive fields, and of course a table with educational materials. We also had 4 “roving neuroscientists” who went out among the crowds with mobile activities – being photographed with one of our brain hats while holding a frame, taste vs smell (with jelly beans), and reaction time testing with a dropped bar to catch or a yardstick to catch as it falls under conditions that include distraction. We absolutely achieved our goals of public interest and education, and also provided more that 80 volunteers, about 3/4 of them undergraduate students, with an opportunity to engage in outreach. The feedback from them was highly positive.

Mainly through the materials we offered in our booth. The materials we order, typically to the maximum possible, are routinely nearly all distributed. Outcomes include teacher requests for classroom demonstrations and materials, and a positive outreach experience for our graduate and undergraduate students.