Dr. Nadja Spitzer, assistant professor of biology and an organizer for the event, said this is the ninth annual Brain Expo to be held at Marshall.
“The event features 27 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. 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,” Spitzer said.
Approximately 200 Marshall students and faculty from the College of Science, the Department of Psychology, and the schools of medicine and pharmacy will oversee the activities. St. Mary’s Medical Center will present a station about brain and spinal cord safety, Marshall Health Neuroscience will discuss nervous system injuries and disease, and the West Virginia Alzheimer’s Association will present a trivia game.
Spitzer said the event is part of Brain Awareness Week, an annual global effort founded in 1996 by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives. The Brain Expo at Marshall was founded by Spitzer and Dr. Brian Antonsen, both of whom are neuroscientists and faculty in Marshall’s Department of Biological Sciences.
“Events like the Brain Expo are an excellent way of increasing public awareness of brain research at Marshall and in gaining 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 get 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, but anyone interested in next year’s program can e-mail brainawareness@marshall.edu.
For more information about the Brain Expo and Marshall’s Brain Awareness Program, visit www.marshall.edu/baw. Friday’s program is supported by the National Science Foundation (Award number 1553667 to Dr. Spitzer), Marshall’s College of Science and the Department of Biological Sciences.
Media are encouraged to cover this event.