More than 600 West Virginia elementary and middle school children will visit Marshall University’s Memorial Student Center from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., Friday, March 4, to participate in activities and games designed to help them learn about the brain and nervous system. This is the eighth annual Brain Expo to be held at Marshall.
The Brain Expo at Marshall was founded by Dr. Nadja Spitzer and Dr. Brian Antonsen, both of whom are neuroscientists and faculty in the university’s Department of Biological Sciences. The event is part of Brain Awareness Week, an annual global effort founded in 1996 by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, according to Spitzer.
“The event features 28 interactive stations where children explore various parts of their nervous system. They also learn how the brain controls their body and why healthy lifestyle choices lead to better brain health,” Spitzer said. “Activities at the stations include learning to juggle, playing a memory game, coloring their own ‘brain hat,’ testing their reflexes and building brain cell-shaped key chains.”
More than 250 Marshall students and faculty from the College of Science, the Psychology Department and the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine will oversee the activities. The St. Mary’s Medical Center will present a station about brain and spinal cord safety, Cabell Huntington Neuroscience will discuss nervous system injuries and disease, and the West Virginia Alzheimer’s Association will present a trivia game.
“Events like the Brain Expo are an excellent way of increasing public awareness of brain research at Marshall and in catching the interest of students who may choose a career path in science, technology, engineering or mathematics,” Spitzer said. “Through the many fun, hands-on activities, attendees start to better understand the brain. Our goal for the Brain Expo is to interest children in science and research at a young age though games and activities that demonstrate the relevance of neuroscience in everyday life.”
Spitzer said registration for this year’s event is full with 11 schools participating, but anyone interested in next year’s program can e-mail brainawareness@marshall.edu. Friday’s program is supported by the National Science Foundation (Cooperative Agreement Award number OIA-1458952) and Marshall’s College of Science and Department of Biological Sciences.
For more information about the Brain Expo and Marshall’s Brain Awareness program, visit www.marshall.edu/baw. To learn more about programs and services within the Marshall University College of Science, visit www.marshall.edu/cos.