News
Press Releases
News Articles
Funding News

Events

Calendar of Events

Proceedings
Congressional Testimony

Contact Us
My Privacy

NINDS is part of the
National Institutes of
Health

Download Adobe Reader

For the 9^th consecutive year, the National Museum of Health and Medicine will host a Brain Awareness Week program for middle school students. BAW will occur the week of March 10 (Monday) through March 14 (Friday), 2008. The program consists of presentations and hands-on activities. Schools may choose one of the two (lasting 2 hours) sessions offered each day. Each session will start with a plenary session (lasting 20 to 30 minutes) that will feature a lecturer who will provide introductory information on the brain and its functions and/or specific information regarding a partner's focus, current research or brain science. Following the plenary session, students are divided into small groups and sent to visit each station as a group. Students will spend 15 to 20 minutes at each station (depending on how long the lectures last and the arrival time of the school groups). The presentations are the same for each session since a new set of students show up at each session. NMHM and the partners try to make the lectures and stations educational, as well as a lot of fun for both the students and the presenters. BAW is usually very exciting and lots of fun for everyone.

• View the complete list of Brain Awareness Week Partners

• 
  

  Brain Awareness Week Programs from NIH

  
  

  
  
                 
  

  National Institute of Neuological Disorders and Stroke  (NINDS)
  "Real Life Jeopardy - Brain Attack Facts"
  
  
  

  

  National Institute on Aging  (NIA)
  "Unforgettable"
  
  
  

  

  National Institute on Drug Abuse  (NIDA)
  "Who Wants to be a NIDA Neuroscientist?"
  
  
  

  

  National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism  (NIAAA)
  "The Drunken Brain"
  
  
  

  

  National Institute of Mental Health  (NIMH)
  "The Wonders of the Brain"

  
  

  ---

  
  
  
  National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
  "Real Life Jeopardy - Brain Attack Facts"
  Using life-size brain models and colorful images, NINDS scientists will review basic brain structure and function, what a stroke ("brain attack") is, and how it affects the different parts of the brain. Through a fun game similar to the popular television show Jeopardy, students will build an awareness of the signs and symptoms of stroke, the risk factors, and the need to act quickly if a stroke occurs. 
  
  National Institute on Aging (NIA)
  "Unforgettable"
  Dr. Suzana Petanceska will discuss ways to maintain a healthy brain throughout the lifespan and will have examples and activities that the students can participate in. The students will be given relevant material to take home with them.
  
  National Institute on Drug Abuse  (NIDA)
  "Who Wants to be a NIDA Neuroscientist?"
  The National Institute on Drug Abuse will be playing an interactive computer based game, "Who Wants to be a NIDA Neuroscientist?" The students will be divided into two teams, each of which will have the opportunity to answer questions related to how abused drugs act in the brain and body. The winners will receive a "Brain Scientist" certificate.
  
  National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism  (NIAAA)
  "The Drunken Brain"
  Step inside NIAAA's novel, multi-sensory exhibit and see the amazing "Drunken Brain," pulsating with electricity and basking in a world of colored lights and eerie sounds. An NIAAA neuroscientist will explain why alcohol interferes with sensory perception, movement, balance and memory, and demonstrate which brain circuits are involved in alcohol dependence and alcoholism.
  
  National Institute of Mental Health  (NIMH)
  "The Wonders of the Brain"
  NIMH's presentation, "The Wonders of the Brain," is about perception. Led by young scientists in the NIMH Division of Intramural Research, students explore how the mind plays tricks with images it sees, such as the elephant with too many legs or the old crone who transforms into a beauty before your very eyes. One interesting scientific anomaly that the students explore is the Stroop effect, first identified in 1935. If you try to name the physical color of a word, the word itself can "interfere" with the process of naming the color of the word. If the word and color don't match, it often takes even longer to name the color. The purpose of the exhibit is help the participants think about how their brains work-to become brain aware.
  

  Brain Awareness Week Partners

  • National Rehabilitation and Rediscovery Foundation
  • The George Washington University Center for Education and Human Services in Acquired Brain Injury
  • Georgetown University Department of Psychology
  • Potomac Chapter, Society for Neuroscience
  • Bob Woodruff Family Fund
  • Howard University Department of Physiology and Biophysics
  • Rutgers University Department of Psychology
  • Walter Reed Army Audiology and Speech Center
  • Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center
  • Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Department of Neuropathology and Ophthalmic Pathology
  • National Museum of Health and Medicine's Neuroanatomical Section
  • National Sleep Foundation
  • The Dana Foundation

Last updated March 03, 2008