Young minds from the Providence community came to Brown this Saturday for interactive lessons about neuroscience at the annual Brown Brain Fair. Organized and hosted by student group Brown Brain Bee and the Department of Neuroscience, the fair is a public event for community members of all ages to learn about neuroscience in an introductory atmosphere.
鈥淚t鈥檚 cool because there鈥檚 so much science stuff that we can do,鈥� said Sarah, age seven, wearing a pipe cleaner and colored yarn bracelet with beads that 鈥渕ake a pattern that represents neurons.鈥� When asked if she was interested in science, she nodded. Why? 鈥淚t鈥檚 fun!鈥�
The event included a range of activities. With popcorn in hand and brain-themed face paint on, attendees could walk through tables showcasing neuroscience-related labs at Brown and learn about topics like sleep or emotions through interactive activities.
According to Jacqueline Cho 鈥�24, Brown Brain Bee鈥檚 president, the goal was to create 鈥渋nteractive experiences鈥� to help attendees make their own connections to 鈥渕ake that complex understanding more simple for themselves.鈥�
One lab featured at the Brain Fair was the , which studies the sense of smell. In essence, 鈥渉ow do we take molecules that are binding and physical in nature, and then go through the circuitry to create odor objects such as 鈥榖anana鈥� or complex objects like 鈥榗offee?鈥欌�� explained first-year neuroscience PhD student Rebecca Tripp GS.
At the Brain Fair, these complex processes were made into a 鈥渉ands-on鈥� experience. To do so, Tripp brought tubes containing various scent molecules that participants could sample and then try to guess what they were.
鈥淭his is one of my favorites,鈥� Tripp said, handing a tube labeled 鈥楤鈥� to a young boy. 鈥淲hat do you think it is?鈥� she asked. He pointed to a photo on a trifold and exclaimed, 鈥淚t鈥檚 banana!鈥�
鈥淵ou might have noticed that it smells more like Laffy Taffy than traditional banana, and that's because this is (only) one of 40 smells that 鈥� bind and create the object of 鈥榖anana鈥� in our brain,鈥� Tripp explained.
Tripp, who previously worked with kids, said she enjoys these types of events because of how 鈥渋nquisitive鈥� the children are.
鈥淚t's cool to get to talk science with them,鈥� Tripp added. 鈥淚 remember I did one event where I was showing (children) how squishy the brain is, and they were like, 鈥楤ut if my brain is squishy, why is my head hard?鈥� and I was like, 鈥榊ou're thinking like a scientist!鈥欌��
Nova Quinn brought her six-year-old son Linden to the Brain Fair because of his excitement for the brain. According to Quinn, her son talks 鈥渁bout neurons constantly.鈥� Linden鈥檚 favorite moments of the fair were getting a brain painted on his face and making a neuron bracelet.
鈥淚 think it's great,鈥� Quinn said of the fair. 鈥淢y son is six, and he has just been incredibly engaged in all of the activities.鈥�
Students in the Neuroscience Departmental Undergraduate Group also volunteered. Anel Zhussubali 鈥�26 manned a table for the to teach kids about optical illusions.
鈥淚f I had something like this fair when I was younger, I would definitely be more in love with the brain,鈥� Zhussubali said. 鈥淚 would be interested in knowing more about the brain earlier because it introduces such difficult scientific concepts in a more engaging and interactive way.鈥�
鈥淚t is exactly what we need to attract people to science,鈥� she said.
According to Cho, just under 600 people attended the event. One of those attendees, Adelaide, 11, plans to be an engineer because she enjoys math.
鈥淚 just find it really cool,鈥� Adelaide said. 鈥淚 just enjoy science!鈥�
