Thousands of community members across the state will learn more about their brains during a week of events led by Weber State University psychology and neuroscience students, March 5-9.

For 16 years, Brain Awareness Week has offered interactive experiments and demonstrations to educate students about the human brain. Last year, WSU volunteers reached more than 1,000 students from 30 different schools.

Participants will learn about brain health and safety through activities such as dissecting sheep brains, wearing concussion goggles that simulate the potentially debilitating effects of a traumatic brain injury and assembling pipe cleaners to resemble the structure of neurons.

WSU students who organize and lead Brain Awareness Week spend their spring break working hard to visit as many schools as possible. This year’s goal is to talk to more than 1,500 students and community members.

Among the schools visited, volunteers will present to fourth-grade students at New Bridge school in Ogden, March 8 from 8:10-10:50 a.m. in room C204. Later that day, volunteers will head to Ogden Preparatory Academy to present to eighth-grade students, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in Room 207.

Though it’s not a typical spring break vacation, Cayla Lynch, the WSU Neuroscience Club president said, the reward of sharing the importance of brain research is worth it.

“I volunteered last year and loved it,” Lynch said. “The presentations that involved sheep brain dissections were a hit. The kids either thought it was so cool or so gross. Either way, they were excited because they had never seen a real brain before.”

The volunteers visit many Title I schools and community outreach centers across Weber and Davis counties.

“This is a great opportunity for Weber State students to get involved in their community,” said Meghan Skidmore, Brain Awareness Week director. “Because we focus on Title I schools, this event provides an opportunity for students of lower income areas to interact with college students. It helps to encourage a college education and promote higher learning.” 

Brain Awareness Week is a global initiative to increase public awareness of the brain, including how the brain functions and the benefits of brain research.