By Michelle Jaffee; photos by Jackie Hart
On a sunny and warm Saturday, they could have been at the beach, a park or a baseball game. But instead on March 7, over 30 homeschool students flocked to the MBI from as far as St. Petersburg and Vero Beach to learn about the brain.
From bending pipe cleaners into “neurons,” to touring the lab of UF neuroscientist Freddyson Martinez-Rivera, Ph.D., the 6- to 16-year-old students joined thousands of peers across the world in celebrating Brain Awareness Week, an annual event to spread enthusiasm about brain research.
“Brain Awareness Week always reminds me why I do what I do and why I love science,” said Grace Wallsinger, a doctoral student in psychology and co-chair of UF’s Brain Awareness Week events this year. “Getting to work with the kids and see them so excited is so amazing.”
Wallsinger and Jose Torrellas, this year’s BAW chair, led a crew of volunteers from the North Central Florida Society for Neuroscience in guiding hands-on activities to teach about the brain’s structures, functions and senses.
In addition, a panel of UF graduate and undergrad students fielded answers about how to get into neuroscience fields.
“If we can get them to start thinking scientifically as they move through school — starting in elementary school — that can shape their career paths,” said Torrellas, who graduated with his Ph.D. in December and this week will begin a postdoctoral position at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.
During lunch, UF neuroscientist Michelle Bedenbaugh, Ph.D., held a rapid-fire “Q&A with a scientist,” answering questions such as “what is your favorite part of being a scientist?” and “why are kids better at using technology than adults?”
The latter drew knowing chuckles from some parents in the audience, and Bedenbaugh went on to explain that younger brains are more plastic. Once circuitry is set, it can be harder to learn new things, she said.
Jessica Kirwan, representing UF’s BRAIN Center, provided free bike helmets to the participants and presented educational resources from the Brain Injury Association of America. Kirwan emphasized the importance of protecting young brains — by wearing helmets, getting sufficient sleep, eating a nutritious diet and staying active.
“Your brain flushes and cleans itself out while you’re sleeping,” she explained to the children. “It’s important that you eat healthy foods so that your brain can function well — you want to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.”
Later this month, the Society for Neuroscience volunteers will bring their presentations out into the community, reaching up to 1,570 K-12 children at 14 Gainesville-area schools.
When Saturday’s events wrapped up, one little girl approached Wallsinger at the front of the auditorium and asked: “How can I do what you do?”
Wallsinger later said she almost teared up at the question.
“This is the whole point,” she said.
To the girl she replied, “read lots of books, listen to your teachers, do lots of math and explore lots of different areas of science!”
Sponsors of UF’s Brain Awareness Week are: the McKnight Brain Institute, the UF Department of Neuroscience, UF’s Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory Clinical Translational Research, UF’s Brain Injury, Rehabilitation and Neuroresilience Center (BRAIN) and UF’s Breathing Research and Therapeutics Center (BREATHE).
