Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
2
Year:
2016
Type of Events Held:
- Conference/Forum
- Exhibit
- Lecture/ Briefing
- Symposium
Target Audiences:
- Elementary school students(1-5)
- General Public
- High School students(9-12)
- Middle school students(6-8)
- Patients & Caregivers
- Professionals
- University students
Approximate Number of People Reached:
750
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
The UTHealth Neuroscience Research Center (NRC) hosted a free public forum on the subject of “Stem Cell Therapy for Neurological Diseases”. This event was held on Saturday, February 20, 2016 in Houston, Texas. The event created a lively discussion between the audience and UTHealth stem cell experts, Drs. Sean Savitz, Qi Lin Cao, Charles Cox, Erin Furr-Stimming, and Jair Soares. This free event discussed new methods for utilizing stem cells to treat a variety of neurological diseases including Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease and more. Local support groups were made available after the Forum. On Thursday, March 17, the UTHealth NRC hosted “Brain Night for Kids”, an event designed for elementary school children and their families. This event included mini-lectures and brain-related demonstrations. Over 300 children and their family members enjoyed brain awareness activity booths. Children learned the importance of helmet-safety, held a real human brain, received a neurological examination, built neurons with pipe-cleaners, performed tasks with limited motor function, allowing them to understand the difficulties that some people face following a spinal cord injury. learned, and much more. Both BAW events were very well received this year!
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Advertisements
- Calendar Listings (newspapers, radio, television)
- Emails
- Mailings
- Posters/Flyers
- Press Release/Media Advisory
- Website
- Social Media
Other Publicity Methods:
For the public forum, interviews on local radio stations and local news television channels helped us reach the general public. For Brain Night, over 11,000 fliers were sent home with children from local elementary schools.
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 Brain Research
- It’s Mindboggling!
- More Mindbogglers!
- Staying Sharp Bookmark
- BAW Stickers
- BAW Pencils and Erasers
- The Mindboggling Workbook
- BAW Buttons
- 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
- Puzzles: BAW Favorites
- Mindboggling Coloring Sheets
What other downloadable materials would you like the Foundation to provide?
- Fact Sheets
- Lesson Plans
- Activities/Experiments
- 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?
Participation in BAW events is always beneficial to our organization and in turn to the Houston community. BAW events extend our reach with local organizations and led to additional collaborations with the health museum and some local schools. These connections will allow more people in the community to learn about the brain and promote neuroscience education at every level. We were grateful for the publications and resources that DANA provided as they act as a constant reminder of BAW.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
Social Media is always very helpful for us along with television advertising through interviews on local news stations. Local support groups are also a powerful resource since they know exactly who to contact for specific events.
Did/do you like our Facebook page?
Yes
Was the information provided on Facebook useful?
Facebook information is extremely helpful. It allows us to stay updated with BAW week and help promote our events
