Brain Awareness in the Bronx
Scientists conduct research for the public’s benefit, yet much of their work is inaccessible to the public, hidden away in laboratories and subscription journals. Not so at Einstein!
Students took part in an exercise that demonstrated the action potential of their muscles
On March 12, 2018, the Einstein Neuroscience Graduate Student Organization opened its doors and invited students from the Pelham Lab High School to Einstein for Brain Awareness Day. Dr. Kamran Khodakhah, professor and chair of Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, strongly believes in science outreach and encourages his department to “let the community know about the brain—how wonderful it is and how exciting and mysterious it is.”
Dozens of students rotated in small groups through learning stations, participating in discussions about animal research, measuring the action potential in their muscles, dissecting animal brains and viewing brain sections under a microscope.
Interactive Learning
Students were able to observe and feel different segments of the brainEach student took away something different. Jada, an 11th-grader, was amazed that “when you’re using your left hand, the right side of the brain is processing it. It’s really weird!” Kevin, a high school senior, said he most enjoyed “the hands-on part where we touched the brain. It was really sticky.”
Lasting Impressions
Pelham Lab teachers have noticed that the knowledge and enthusiasm students gain from Brain Awareness Day have a sustained effect. Megha Chakraborty observed “Compared to the classroom, this is a lot more interactive and a lot more visual, so it’s going to be easier for them to grasp the concepts, because they’ve seen them already.”
Scientists recognize the importance of sharing research with the public to build trust and demonstrate how their work benefits the community. Graduate student Stacy Roudabush noted, “Our goal was to ignite their scientific curiosity. Because they are high schoolers, they’re at the age where they don’t want to act like things are cool. But when they get surprised, if it sparks some momentary interest in science, it’s worth it.”
Spreading the Word
“Brain Awareness Day is one way we can bring together the scientific and local communities,” said Kristin Palarz, who organized the event with fellow graduate student Basia Galinski. “We believe outreach events like this can improve community relations and brighten the future of science.”
Basia agreed. “I think the more you can engage with the public and make it aware of the science we are doing and why it’s important, the more interest and understanding will spread,” she said. “When we reach high schoolers, they’ll tell their parents; their parents will think it’s cool. This is how science policy changes how people think about science.”
Kristin added, “As a budding scientist, I think it’s important to work on our skills presenting science to other scientists, and also to the community.”
Posted on: Wednesday, April 25, 2018