When you communicate brain science, have you considered how you can use the world around you to enhance impact? What does neuroscience look like in a forest, in an urban playground, or on the beach?
We’ve been developing a reflexive approach to neuroscience outreach by using the resources we encounter in different environments to teach children about the brain. Using your imagination and the tools at hand, you can turn almost any environment into a classroom, where the lessons are always fresh and exciting.
Introduction to The Event, Brainwaves
Brainwaves was a one-day seashore-based neuroscience adventure conducted at the Sidmouth Science Festival in Devon, United Kingdom in October 2018. The science festival is one of a number of community-led festivals in the United Kingdom.
There were 65 children, aged 8–9. Twelve neuroscientists, ranging from PhD candidates to principal investigators, designed and delivered the workshop. We recruited three local schools as participants to bring together children with different educational experiences.
We used the fabric of the seashore — pebbles, tidal creatures, buckets and spades, and the terrain — to explore the structure of a neuron, how signals pass along cells, and how brain cells build connected networks. We explicitly wanted to use what we found on the beach and in rock pools to illustrate these concepts and show that connections to neuroscience are all around us.
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