Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
1
Year:
2018
Type of Events Held:
- Exhibit
Target Audiences:
- Elementary school students(1-5)
- General Public
- High School students(9-12)
- Middle school students(6-8)
Approximate Number of People Reached:
500
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
Brain Day in Detroit is an event is organized by students and faculty at Wayne State University, the University of Detroit-Mercy, the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center, and the Detroit Medical Center. We partner with the Michigan Science Center (http://www.mi-sci.org/), a hands-on educational center located in Detroit . Brain Day in Detroit is held in conjunction with Brain Awareness Week; this years event was held on March 10, 2018. We do not have records as to the number of years this event has been held, but the best guess is at least 20 years. We organized 16 unique interactive activities that were placed throughout the science center, each presented by a research group in the Detroit neuroscience community. These displays were staffed with over 150 volunteers, which included undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and post-docs, and one group made up entirely of students from a local high school (Northville High School). In edition to providing valuable (and fun) educational outreach, this event helps to bring a diverse neuroscience community together towards a common cause. We held a special event this year at Brain Day in support of the Science centers”STEMinista” program, which matches female scientists to young girls to inspire their interest in STEM fields. We organized panel of female neuroscientists to talk to the girls about their careers and inspirations. Most supplies are donated, so the vent works with very little budget. The Science Center provides free admission to all volunteers and a support staff to help set up activity stations.
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Calendar Listings (newspapers, radio, television)
- 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
- Brain-shaped Erasers
- The Mindboggling Workbook
What downloadable materials from the Foundation did you use for your events?
- Puzzles: Grades K-2
- Puzzles: Grades 3-5
- Mindboggling 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?
Our neuroscience community is distributed across the city; this is one of the few events that brings us together as a group, and the only one focused on education and fun! So it is a highlight of the year, and the size of our volunteer list (over 150) is indicative of its popularity.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
We work with a distributed model of organization. I (Tom Fischer) serve as a liaison/principle contact point between the different groups and the ScienceCenter. Each group organizes their own activities, staffing, supplies etc.; I work with the science center to organize the space for the groups. This minimizes to work load on any one person/group.
Did/do you like our Facebook page?
Yes
Was the information provided on Facebook useful?
Not specifically. Just nice to know what else is out there!
