University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix

Our first event was a Dance for Parkinson’s workshop. We challenged stereotypes about aging and then a teaching artist trained in the Mark Morrison method of Dance for Parkinson’s led participants through a dance routine. For our second event, we had a certified Zentangle® Teacher instruct a class on the art of meditative pattern drawing. Our final event was a Trivia Lunch participants were challenged with some neuro-related questions that they answered as a team. Throughout the week, we had a poster board that was displayed in the lobby asking people to take an index card and place a pledge on it to improve their brain health. Some examples were pledging to “get more sleep”, “eat healthier”, “take a walk each day”, etc.People were also invited to take pamphlets, buttons, handouts, and tri-folds to learn about important topics in neuroscience. .

We always look forward to Brain Awareness Week. It’s a great way to get our campus community to focus on brain health. Some of the important outcomes of the event included an increase in student appreciation for the use of creative modalities such as dance with people with Parkinson’s Disease and increased interest in the use of meditative pattern drawing as a way to calm the mind and refocus attention. Classes are now being offered on a monthly basis.

I would like to see more people post about their events, or the the Dana Foundation to highlight campuses/organizations. I like to learn from others!