~ Neuroscience for Kids - Brain Awareness Week (2005)
University of Washington
Brain Awareness Week - 2005

Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is a nationwide effort organized by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and the Society for Neuroscience to promote the public and personal benefits of brain research. The official week for BAW was March 14-20, 2005, but the whole month of March was filled with activities. Classroom visits and an Open House made BAW at the University of Washington a real success.

The Open House was supported by the UW Department of Anesthesiology and the Pacific Cascade Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience.

University of Washington BAW Open House

Map of Exhibits

 On March 22, 320 students attended the University of Washington Brain Awareness Week Open House (10 am to 1 pm; Health Sciences Bldg., 3rd Floor Lobby).

To start the Open House, students attended an interactive, multimedia "Brain Assembly" to learn about the nervous system. Students then visited exhibits set up by University of Washington departments and other organizations. Students were connected to an EEG machine to record their brain waves (EEG and Clinical Neurophysiology) and to a transcranial Doppler machine to measure their brain blood flow (UW Dept. of Anesthesiology). The UW Department of Biological Structure had a comparative neuroanatomy display and the Neurobiology and Behavior Program had an exhibit to test the senses. The Pacific Science Center provided many exhibits that they bring out to schools and had a real human brain for the students to hold. The DO-IT program, the Department of Biology and Genome Sciences, Department of Otolaryngology and the Northwest Association of Biomedical Research also provided exhibits.

Open House Activities

Exhibit Area

Face Painting
Brain Blood Flow
Termite Tracking

Homunculus Hat
Sensory Testing
Neurotransmitter Activity

Brain Comparisons
Brain Comparisons
Brain Comparisons

Comments from Students about the Open House
  • "At first I thought that the brain would be boring and I wouldn't like it, but after I left I felt like it was great!"
  • "That trip seemed way too short. Even though I was there for a few hours, it seemed like half an hour."
  • "You made it funny, full of interesting things, fast-paced and made me very interested in neuroscience."
  • "I also got my name printed in Braille and I find it hard to believe that some people can read that. I can't even find when one letter goes onto the next letter."

BACK TO: Brain Awareness Week 2005 Brain Awareness Week 2004 Table of Contents
Brain Awareness Week 2003 Brain Awareness Week 2002
Brain Awareness Week 2001 Brain Awareness Week 2000
Brain Awareness Week 1999 Brain Awareness Week 1998

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