Local schoolchildren examined animal brains at the Annual Brain Awareness Fair.
“Today is about making science accessible, not scary or intimidating,” said Alyson Davis, LMSW, Program Director of Mount Sinai’s Center for Excellence in Youth Education (CEYE), of the Fifth Annual Brain Awareness Fair. In early May, the event drew hundreds to the Guggenheim Pavilion. Among the attendees were 500 local elementary, middle, and high school students who received three hours of private access.
School children toured the inside of an inflatable model of the brain in the Guggenheim Pavilion.
More than 15 immersive tables provided the students with a fun, tactile learning environment where they viewed specimens of animal brains, used 3D virtual reality to simulate the experience of performing brain surgery, and controlled the movement of their peers using electroencephalogram sensors. The Fair was organized by Mentoring in Neuroscience Discovery at Sinai (MiNDS), with support from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Friedman Brain Institute and CEYE.
“This is our favorite event of the year,” said Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, Nash Family Professor of Neuroscience and Director of The Friedman Brain Institute. “I get choked up when I see children from our community showing keen interest in the brain and being part of the Mount Sinai family.”