Brain Awareness Week

Brain Awareness

Things to Do • Links • Online Activities • Lesson Plans

March 15-21, 2010 is Brain Awareness Week
Use this opportunity to learn about your brain and the brain research that is being done at the University of Utah and around the world.

Things to Do:		Links:
How Your Brain Works Spend a few minutes on this page to learn the basics about your brain. Also explore The Human Brain on the Franklin Institute Online Web page.		Brain Awareness Week (Dana Alliance) Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is an international campaign dedicated to advancing public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research.
Your Amazing Brain You carry around a three-pound mass of wrinkly material in your head that controls every single thing you will ever do. Learn more from the National Geographic.		BrainyKids Online science resources for students, teachers, and parents.
Internet Tour of the Brain Take a tour at the Exploratorium Web site. After the tour, spend five minutes listing everything that memory helps you with.		Brain Institute at the University of Utah Learn what the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT is leading the field in brain research.
Brain Connection Image Gallery Illustrations, animations, and images of the brain.		Brain Facts (pdf) Brain Facts is a 52-page primer on the brain and nervous system, published by the Society for Neuroscience.
Probe the Brain Visit this web page from PBS. Read the page, and then complete the probe activity. What did you notice as you were probing the brain? What were some of the body parts that twitched when you probed the brain. What is the brain probe activity trying to tell you?		It's All in the Brain: Illusions Reveal the Brain's Assumptions Read this article about how the brain makes an educated guess, based on the information at hand and on some simple assumptions.
		Neuroscience for Kids This site has been created for all students and teachers who would like to learn about the nervous system.
Don't Forget: Playing Games with Memory Here are some activities to test your memory -- and some things you can try to help you remember things better.		Exploratorium: Memory Memory, a major exhibition at the Exploratorium, ran from May 22, 1998 through January 10, 1999.
Maintain Your Brain Visit this web page created by the Alzheimer’s Association and discover four ways to make brain-healthy life choices.		The Whole Brain Atlas The Whole Brain Atlas is an information resource for central nervous system imaging.
Pain and Why It Hurts Read this short article. After the reading, answer these questions: What would happen if you couldn't feel pain? How does smell help you protect yourself? What about taste? Do you know anyone who is hearing or sight impaired? What other senses do they use to navigate their way through the world? Could you survive if you had none of the five senses? What does your brain do with the information it gets? (For instance if you taste something bad, it tells you to spit the food out, if you hear a loud noise it tells you to cover your ears.)		The Brain is the Boss Your brain is the boss of your body. It runs the show and controls just about everything you do, even when you're asleep. Not bad for something that looks like a big, wrinkly, gray sponge.
		Brain Facts Brain facts that make you go, "Hmmmmm".
		Alzheimer's Association: Resources for Kids and Teens This page provides resources to help you learn about Alzheimer’s disease and understand how it affects you.
Create a Model of a Neuron Use clay, recyclables, food or anything else you can get your hands on to create a model of a neuron. Pictures from books and the Internet may help you get an idea of where the components of a neuron should go and what shape they should be.		National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) NIDA's mission is to lead the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction.
BrainConnection.com The Education Place Web site the at BrainConnection. com presents Brain Teasers to keep your synapses snapping.		NIDA for Teens: The Science Behind Drug Abuse The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Heath (NIH), created this Web site to educate adolescents ages 11 through 15 (as well as their parents and teachers) on the science behind drug abuse.
Brain Institute at the University of Utah Find out how a tiny worm, or a fruit fly, can tell us a lot about how human brains.		Mind Over Matter This series is designed to encourage young people in grades five through nine to learn about the effects of drug abuse on the body and the brain.
Another Day, Another Neuron Discover how you can become a Neuroscientist.		National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is the largest scientific organization in the world dedicated to research focused on the understanding, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders and the promotion of mental health.


Online Activities		Lesson Plans:
Interactive Brain Games Check out this collection of interactive brain games for 7-12th grade students.		Brain Awareness Week Lessons These lesson ideas are intended to give teachers a head start in planning classroom activities during Brain Awareness Week.
Brain Jigsaw Puzzles Scramble these puzzles and see if you can put them back together.		The Busy Brain - [Grades 3 – 5] Understand how the brain receives and sends signals to the body.
Neuro-Jeopardy Test your knowledge about the nervous system. The game is contained in a PowerPoint file, therefore, your computer must have the ability to read ppt files.		Coping with Changes - [Grades 6 - 8] Understand how the nervous system allows us to learn, remember, and cope with changes in the environment.
Brain Hieroglyphics "Read" the pictures to make a single word or phrase. Each word or phrase has something to do with the nervous system.		Brain Brands - [Grades 6 - 12] In this lesson, students learn about the advent of neuromarketing as a means to assess the effects of certain brands on the brain activity of prospective buyers.
Short Term Memory Test Think you have a good memory? Then take this little test..		Diagnostic Imaging and the Brain - [Grades 9 - 12] Understand the advantages, disadvantages, and potential of diagnostic imaging technologies in brain research.
Brainy Games Play these online interactive games to help you learn about the brain and nervous system. [The Shockwave plug-in is required.]		The Laughing Brain 1: How We Laugh - [Grades 9 - 12] Explore gelotology (the science of laughter) and its benefits to our social, mental, and physical well-being.
Reaction Time Experiments How fast are you? Test your response time using these reaction time experiments. Start/Stop Test Hit-the-Dot Test Colorful Reaction Time Tester Check Box Test		The Laughing Brain 2: A Good Laugh - [Grades 9 - 12] Explore various theories about laughter, laughter’s effects on our mental health, and the benefits of laughter to our immune system.
		Mapping the Homunculus - [Grades 9 - 12] Students will map the region of the cortex which receives tactile input from the body.
Color Your Brain! Color the parts of a neuron and the lobes of the brain.		The Model Neuron Students will learn about the structure of a neuron by constructing a model.
Face Recognition Game How easy is it to recognize faces when they are upside down? Find out with this game.		Synaptic Tag Students will review the parts of the synapse and their functions by playing a game called "Synaptic Tag".
Neuroscience Hangman Read the clue about the brain and then type a letter. Keep the man from being hanged.
Stroop Effect Experiment Try this experiment, say the color, don't read the word. How successful were you? Why do you think some people have trouble with this activity?