Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
2
Year:
2018
Type of Events Held:
- Lecture/ Briefing
- Open House
Target Audiences:
- General Public
- Other: Seniors
- Other: Families
Approximate Number of People Reached:
250
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
Public Lecture Dr. Stephen Lomber of Western University gave a public lecture on March 13, 2017 titled “The Plastic Brain: how the brain is able to adapt to blindness, amputation, deafness, and stroke”. This event took place at the Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization, and was attended by over 130 members of the Lethbridge community. Feedback for this event was very positive, and Dr. Lomber was able to spend some time answering the questions of the public in a friendly and engaging manner. CCBN Open House As in previous years, the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) opened its doors during Brain Awareness Week, allowing the public to explore the facility and become familiar with the world class research going on within their own community. Faculty members and lab representatives were available to present their research in a public-friendly manner, and answer any questions that the visitors had. Local organizations related to brain health, development, and disease were also present to provide the public with more information. The event was family friendly, with a large kid’s room set up to teach children of all ages about brain facts, development, and safety.On top of these crafts, there were a variety of take-home materials and pamphlets targeted for various ages provided by the DANA foundation. Over 150 people attended the CCBN open house, with roughly one third consisting of families and children. Over fifty individuals from the university volunteered their time and expertise to make the event a great success, and there is already much excitement for future events.
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Advertisements
- Emails
- Posters/Flyers
- Press Release/Media Advisory
- Social Media
Other Publicity Methods:
Radio Advertisment
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:
- Q&A: Answering Your Questions About The Brain
- It’s Mindboggling!
- Staying Sharp: Successful Aging and the Brain
What downloadable materials from the Foundation did you use for your events?
- Puzzles: Grades K-2
- Puzzles: Grades 3-5
- Mindboggling Coloring Sheets
What other downloadable materials would you like the Foundation to provide?
- New Fact Sheets
- New Puzzles/Games
- 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?
Brain Awareness Week provides a great platform by which the CCBN can showcase its research in the context of public health and benefit. Educating the public on brain and mental health allows everybody involved to lead healthier lives; the largest immediate benefit was seen by families learning how best to help their children develop and build healthy brains.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
-Many local organizations were able to provide valuable word-of-mouth publicity for our events free of charge, even if they weren’t otherwise involved. -The local school board was interested in out event, and we had a larger number of families attending as a result.
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