Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
1
Year:
2016
Type of Events Held:
- Workshop
Target Audiences:
- Elementary school students(1-5)
Approximate Number of People Reached:
150
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
I am a faculty member in the psychology department at the University of Memphis. My focus is behavioral neuroscience. I recruited several honors students to help with a brain awareness event. We went to a local elementary school and met with 150 1st grade students (25 students at a time). First, we talked about the movements and perceptions our bodies are capable of and how the brain makes all of these possible. The brain is the “big boss”. We showed pictures of brains of various species and highlighted that ours are more wrinkly and have larger frontal lobes. We talked about how different parts of our brains are responsible for different functions, highlighting the 4 cortical lobes and subcortical limbic region for emotion. We then handed out stickers to each child with different actions on each sticker, such as “listening to my teacher”, “jumping rope”, “crying when I lose my favorite toy”… Then one of the college students put on a hat that looked like a brain, which made the children laugh. The children took turns one by one, announcing the action on their sticker and sticking it to the hat in the appropriate brain area (inside the hat for emotion/limbic region). At the end of our session we discussed and showed pictures of ways to take care of your brain, such as get plenty of rest, eat healthy, exercise, and wear a helmet (which is most important for this age). We also gave out goodie bags (brain erasers, pencils, pins, and brain workbook) and stickers. The kids loved it and wrote sweet thank you notes with impressive pictures of brains and arrows pointing out different areas. I hope this becomes an annual event for our department. Next year we are planning to hit more local schools and more age leve
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Emails
- Posters/Flyers
- 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:
- BAW Stickers
- The Mindboggling Workbook
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?
I’ve had several teachers ask us to come speak with their kids about the brains. I’ve been to a local high school since then and plan to involve them in BAW next year. The teachers love being involved and feel it’s great information for the students (of all ages). I also have several college students who are making suggestions of ways to make next year even more impactful. It’s exciting to see kids excited to support brain awareness.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
Leave plenty of time for questions (even from the teachers). The brain is so interesting for everyone. Even little kids are curious and have great questions.
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