Neuroscience Workshops - Learn About Life
Date: Wednesday 17th March 2010
Venue: School of Biosciences
As part of the 'Learn About Life' programme, the CNC and the School of Biosciences will be running a series of Neuroscience workshops for 120 school children aged 10-11years. These workshops are designed to be fun, yet informative, teaching the school children about the brain and the central nervous system. For example, using plasticine, pipe cleaners and skoobies, children will learn about the different parts of the neuron, and how the neuron communicates with the muscle to control movement. For further details of some of the workshops that will be run, see the table below.
| WORKSHOP | Brief description |
| 1. Movement | Get a volunteer to lie down and draw around their body. Add neurons (made from bluetac and electrical wires) to show how nerves communicate with muscles to control movement |
| 2. Tunnel Vision | Show kids what visual impairments may feel like and what the effect is on the visual field |
| 3. Can we trick your brain? | Optical illusions |
| 4. Race for your body bits! | Split pupils into 2 teams. One pupil in each team wears a body-organ tunic. They will have labels for each |
| 5. Competition | Stroop test The Stroop Task is a psychological test of our mental flexibility. The task takes advantage of our ability to read words more quickly and automatically than we can name colors. |
| 6. Brain Cells | Make neurons, from plasticine, pipe cleaners and skoobies, and stick them on brain poster. |
| 7. Model Brains | Students and staff from Cardiff will use brain models to explain how different areas of the brain control behaviour. Pupils can handle the models and take them apart etc. |
| 8. Could you do brain surgery? | Cutting a grape out of jelly |
| 9. Brain Caps | Draw areas of brain on swimming caps? Children get to take the swimming caps home. |
| 10. Colour your brain | Use different colours to colour the different lobes of the brain, or write different emotions on the brain. |