Brain Awareness Week

Colorado State University has provided the local community with Brain Awareness Week activities for over 20 years

About the program

Brain Awareness Week is a global event supported by the Dana Foundation and the Society for Neuroscience. The program’s activities are also supported by the Department of Biomedical Sciences and the STEM Center.

Brain Awareness Week provides:

  • Science enrichment opportunities at local schools
  • Enhanced undergraduate and graduate education experiences for students through outreach
  • Consultations for individuals or institutions wanting to start their own Brain Awareness Week programs

Brain Awareness Week activities are extensive and typically occur during the spring semester although fall semester events are possible. Each year, approximately 100 CSU volunteers travel to several local middle and high schools to provide hands-on, neuroscience-related content using stations. Typically, 10-12 stations are set up at each school and individual stations include a poster, a trained CSU volunteer, and related activities. Planning for spring events starts during the fall semester and interested schools need to have a teacher (or teachers) willing to spend time working with the program director, Dr. Leslie Stone-Roy, before and during the event. Events are limited and scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Smaller events and individual class visits covering sensory systems and neuroscience are also possible and include visits to preschool, elementary, middle and high schools.

Activities

Topics are presented to students using stations. Stations are usually set up at the host school a day before the start of the event. Stations include posters with interesting information about a topic as well as fun hands-on activities students can use to explore the ideas presented at those stations.

Available stations

*Top stations requested by schools

  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Auditory system
  • Brain overview
  • Bullying and the brain
  • Chemical senses (taste and smell)*
  • Comparative brain anatomy (brain specimens of multiple species)*
  • Depression
  • Diabetes and the nervous system
  • Drosophila use in neuroscience – the neuromuscular junction*
  • Ecstasy and the nervous system
  • Epilepsy
  • Human brain anatomy*
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Neuroscience and technology*
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Stroke – effects and prevention*
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Vision and optical illusions*

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