ShareBrain Awareness
Things to Do • Links • Online Activities • Lesson Plans
March 11 - 17, 2013 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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 
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.
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.
Learn what the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT is leading the field in brain research.Brain Facts (pdf)
Brain Facts is a 52-page primer on the brain and nervous system, published by the Society for Neuroscience.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.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.
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.Lending Library of Learning Resources
K-12 Utah teachers can now borrow realistic models of brains and other related resources from the Brain Institute.
K-12 Utah teachers can now borrow realistic models of brains and other related resources from the Brain Institute.
Brain
Awareness Week Lessons
These lesson ideas are intended to give teachers a head start in planning classroom activities during Brain Awareness Week.
These lesson ideas are intended to give teachers a head start in planning classroom activities during Brain Awareness Week. Interactive Brain Games
Check out this collection of interactive brain games for 7-12th grade students.
Check out this collection of interactive brain games for 7-12th grade students.Coping
with Changes -
[Grades 6 - 8]
Understand how the nervous system allows us to learn, remember, and cope with changes in the environment.
Understand how the nervous system allows us to learn, remember, and cope with changes in the environment. 
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.
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. 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.
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.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.
Explore gelotology (the science of laughter) and its benefits to our social, mental, and physical well-being. Brain
Hieroglyphics
"Read" the
pictures to make a single word or phrase. Each word or phrase has
something to do with the nervous system.
"Read" the
pictures to make a single word or phrase. Each word or phrase has
something to do with the nervous system. 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.
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.
Students will map the region of the cortex which receives tactile input from the body.Brainy Games
Play these online interactive
games to help you learn about the
brain and nervous system. [The Shockwave plug-in is required.]
Play these online interactive
games to help you learn about the
brain and nervous system. [The Shockwave plug-in is required.] Reaction Time Experiments
How
fast are you? Test your response time using these reaction
time experiments.
How
fast are you? Test your response time using these reaction
time experiments.
Synaptic Tag
Students will review the parts of the synapse and their functions by playing a game called "Synaptic Tag".
Students will review the parts of the synapse and their functions by playing a game called "Synaptic Tag". Wipe Out (pdf) - [Grades 7- 12]
In support of the documentary Wipe Out, this lesson plan raises students' awareness of traumatic brain injuries.
In support of the documentary Wipe Out, this lesson plan raises students' awareness of traumatic brain injuries. 
Color the parts of a Face
Recognition Game
How easy is it to recognize faces when they are upside down? Find
out with this game.
How easy is it to recognize faces when they are upside down? Find
out with this game.Neuroscience Hangman
Read the clue about the brain and then type a letter. Keep the man from being hanged.
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?
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?