NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 22, Issue 3 (March, 2018)

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Welcome to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.

In this issue:

  1. What's New at Neuroscience for Kids
  2. Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month
  3. Neuroscience for Kids Poetry Contest Results
  4. Help Needed - New Episode of BrainWorks
  5. Brain Awareness Week
  6. Media Alert
  7. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
  8. Support Neuroscience for Kids
  9. How to Stop Your Subscription

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1. WHAT'S NEW AT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

Neuroscience for Kids had several new additions in February including:

A. February Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news2202.html

B. Neuroscience in the News
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/inthenews.html


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2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for March is the "Nexus Experiments" at:

http://www.nexusexperiments.uni-freiburg.de/en/home/

The Cluster of Excellence BrainLinks-BrainTools is a research center based at the University of Freiburg in Germany. Not only is BrainLinks-BrainTools involved in cutting-edge brain research, it is also developing resources to interact with the public. In Nexus Experiments, you will find some great examples that show how scientists have connected with the public.

Click on the "Blog & Events" button for a list of past, present and future activities organized by the program. This month, BrainLinks-BrainTools will host events around Freiburg in celebration of Brain Awareness Week. The "Experiments" button leads you to an online exhibition of art and science events and the "Lab" button brings you to online activities that ask about your attitudes toward ethical questions. If you are interested in organizing your own outreach activities, click on the "DIY" button to find materials and ideas for events, quizzes and role playing.

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3. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS POETRY CONTEST RESULTS

Judging of the 2018 Neuroscience for Kids Poetry Contest has been completed and winners have been selected. A total of 361 poems from 23 states and 5 countries were received this year. Here are the winning poems:

Level: Kindergarten- Grade 2 (Poem, any style)
Author: Isha D.
"What makes you so important?" mind asked brain one day
Brain answered, It is my work all day
I make you happy and sad
I make you think good and bad
I make you smell
I make you tell
I make you feel the touch
I make you hear as such
I control everything in the body
I work all day happily!

Level: Grade 3-5 (Poem must rhyme)
Author: Elena F.
The brain is a web so sensitive and meek
Though it has so much knowledge to find and seek
The brain is a car it needs its fuel
8 hours of sleep it's the number one rule
Coffee, Tea! Why certainly not
The caffeine will just tie your receptors in a knot
Temporal, Occipital, Parietal, and Frontal
All of those lobes mold into a bundle
Touch, hearing, taste, smell, and sight
Each lobe lights them all up like a light

Level: Grade 6-8 (Poem must be haiku)
Author: Madhalasa I.
Gyrus and Sulci
with their bumps and grooves create
four lobes and more space

Level: Grade 9-12 (Poem must be a limerick.)
Author: Rachel R.
My brain determines each of my actions
It's often swayed by many attractions
Every move I make
Every step I take
Sets off a compulsive chain reaction

Level: Adults (Poem must rhyme)
Author: Natalie S.-J.
You are your brain, your brain is you, there are endless things your brain can do!
This big blob of matter allows you to think, 100 billion neurons fire fast than a blink.
It processes sights, it processes smells, it distinguishes the sound of drums from bells.
It allows you to taste, it allows you to touch, what else can it do? Oh, so much!
It gives you the power to think, move, and sense, though all of this comes at an ATP expense.
Made mainly of water and a whole lot of fat, it’s out most complex organ, how amazing is that!
The language of the brain is the action potential, seemingly simple but so very essential.
The brain is quite amazing you see, but so much of the brain is a mystery.
So I study the brain and you should too, because these discoveries are up to you!

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4. HELP NEEDED - NEW EPISODE OF BRAINWORKS

Many Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter readers have seen the BrainWorks TV shows that I have created. I would like to make a new BrainWorks episode about Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs). The Dana Foundation has been very generous in providing some funding to get started, but I need to raise some additional funds. So, I am trying something new: crowdfunding!

The University of Washington has created a crowdfunding web site to help support BrainWorks. Please visit the web site, send the website URL to all of your friends, tweet about the effort, and post the URL to your social media sites so we can get the show made. Every little bit of support helps!

BrainWorks Crowdfunding Web Site:

https://uw.useed.net/projects/1010/home/

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5. BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK

Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is this month! I hope you will participate at your own school or in your neighborhood. For more information about BAW, visit the Dana Alliance and Society for Neuroscience web sites at:

http://www.dana.org/brainweek/

and

http://www.sfn.org/BAW/

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6. MEDIA ALERT

A. "The brain, decoded" is the cover story in the March 2018 issue of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND.

B. "Intelligent machines that learn like children" by Diana Kwon and "Brain scans may predict optimal mental health treatments" by John Gabrieli (SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, March 2018).

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7. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. The brain of an alligator weighs about 8 grams.

B. The cerebellum of a squirrel weighs about 1.5 grams.

C. The spinal cord of a rat weighs about 0.7 grams.

D. Sea lions can hear sounds with frequencies from 100 Hz to 40,000 Hz.

E. The length of a rabbit spinal cord is 18 cm.

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8. SUPPORT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

To ensure that Neuroscience for Kids stays available, we need your help. All contributions to Neuroscience for Kids are tax deductible (subject to IRS regulations). If you would like to donate to Neuroscience for Kids, please visit:

Help Neuroscience for Kids
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9. HOW TO STOP RECEIVING THIS NEWSLETTER

To remove yourself from this mailing list and stop your subscription to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter, send e-mail to Dr. Eric H. Chudler at: chudler@u.washington.edu
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Your comments and suggestions about this newsletter and the "Neuroscience for Kids" web site are always welcome. If there are any special topics that you would like to see on the web site, just let me know.

Eric

Eric H. Chudler, Ph.D.
(e-mail: chudler@u.washington.edu)
(URL: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html)