Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
41
Year:
2018
Type of Events Held:
- School Program
Target Audiences:
- Elementary school students(1-5)
Approximate Number of People Reached:
1,000
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
The 3rd Brain Awareness Week put on by the University of Jamestown Physical Therapy students was very successful. We visited all the 4th grade classrooms in our community. Seventy-five physical therapy students went into 41 different 4th grade classrooms to help our young friends learn more about their brains, introduce them to the world of neuroscience, and educated them on how health care providers can test brain functions. We used 45 minute sessions to present to the elementary students. Our presentation was comprised of a large group discussion on what the brain does and how the brain works by explaining the structure of the neuron and building one together. We then split into interactive small group stations where we talked about; 1) balance, the brain, and physical therapists; 2) cranial nerve testing commonly done by health care providers (doctors, PT, nurses, etc) in a physical exam, and 3) the different lobes of the brains and their functions and how if we injury our brains, such as with a concussion, depending on which part of the brain is injured, we can present with different signs and symptoms. We ended our sessions with large group discussion on how we can keep our brains healthy through exercise and challenging ourselves in school, along with how we can prevent brain injuries by wearing helmets. The 4th graders have a brain units in science in the spring, aligning well with all of our Brain Awareness Sessions.
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Emails
Other Publicity Methods:
Coordinated with school district's curriculum director to plan visits to all the 4th grade classrooms.
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!
- More Mindbogglers!
- BAW Stickers
- BAW Pencils
- Brain-shaped Erasers
- The Mindboggling Workbook
What downloadable materials from the Foundation did you use for your events?
- Puzzles: Grades 3-5
- Mindboggling Coloring Sheets
What other downloadable materials would you like the Foundation to provide?
- Activities/Experiments
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?
We have gotten great feedback from the teachers of the classrooms that we have visited this spring. We believe that these sessions allowed us to share with our community about the importance of taking care of your brain, decreased some of the anxiety of visiting health care professions for young children by showing them what we are testing for, and exposed the elementary students to an introduction of neuroscience to get them excited and more knowledgeable about their own brains and bodies.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
Coordinating schedules among several participants can be tricky, but by gathering information and starting early it gives more time to spare when schedules need to be changed.
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