University of North Carolina

Concussions are in the news as scientists and the public are learning how repeated concussions from sports or occupation can lead to permanent brain damage. For Brain Awareness Week, faculty from the UNC Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies organized an interactive exhibit “Protect the Brain – Concussion!” as a platform for the community to learn about concussions, neuroscience and brain health. The main event was held at a local science museum, the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science (http://www.ncmls.org/), in a hands-on laboratory exhibit area. Visitors from across the region were introduced to the lab via a 30-s video (continuously looped on a prominent LCD screen ) illustrating how concussive damage occurs after a blow to the head. Once visitors entered the lab area, they first explored the human brain by observing and touching a postmortem human brain and a brain/skull model. Scientists talked with visitors about which parts of the brain control various senses or functions, and what might happen if the brain was concussed. Next, scientists asked the visitors – what do you think would happen if your occipital lobe was damaged? We used distortion goggles that simulated the double vision and imbalance that might arise after concussion. Visitors performed gross and fine motor skills (e.g., walking a straight line; placing a peg in a hole board) with and without the goggles to experience the debilitating effects of the distortion. The exhibit was staffed by 26 scientists and students from UNC and approximately 430 children and 230 adults came through the exhibit over the 6 days. Conversations on brain health (wearing a helmet, eating healthy food, protecting our brains from drugs and alcohol) were encouraged.

BAW participation benefited the community by providing fun and engaging interaction with local scientists. The children and adults that visited reported that it was exciting to see real brains and the goggle distortions were compelling. Participation also benefited our organization by providing UNC students and scientists with an outlet for community outreach and the chance to deliver a prevention message for general brain health and responsible alcohol drinking.

We provided volunteers with a detailed “script” for each activity to help them to interact with visitors. We scheduled overlapping “shifts” that allowed new staff to learn by watching before taking over.