Train Our Brains Initiative

The education portion of The Department of Neuroscience's outreach program is dedicated to promoting understanding and enthusiasm for how the central nervous system works. We do this in a variety of ways including neuroscientist visits to Monongalia county school classrooms, event collaborations with Morgantown museums, libraries, and civic centers, and public presentations about neuroscience-related issues of particular importance to the state of West Virginia. Since this program was initiated in 2014, these activities have impacted more than 1500 children, teachers, parents, and residents in the local community.

As part of Train Our Brains, WVU Neuroscience teamed up with Morgantown Public Library for Brains and Books! This program saw graduate and undergraduate students teamed up to teach over 150 kids and adults all about how the brain works. Whether it was making pipe cleaner neurons to talk about all the parts of the neuron and how they communicate, learning all the different things our brains can do, or even making a bit of a mess with the protect your brain station, the day was a hit all around. To quote one of our graduate student volunteers “I was supposed to leave an hour ago and probably have a [parking] ticket, but I was having too much fun!”