Past Outreach
Brain Camp
2022:
Learning about the brain is fascinating, and people are naturally inquisitive. However, economic and geopolitical obstacles can easily dampen this spark. Members of the Northern West Virginia Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience have teamed up with the faculty and graduate students of the Departments of Neuroscience and Human Performance at West Virginia University, as well as the WVU Center for Foundational Neuroscience Research and Education and Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute to continue a public outreach program. The program aims to provide educational experiences and nurture the spark of curiosity in undergraduate students and high school students in Morgantown, West Virginia and remotely in Ukraine. We have created a Neuroscience Undergraduate Research Opportunity (NURO) camp program for in-person and remote instruction to introduce the basic neuroscience topics and conduct hands-on and active-learning-based activities. The NURO program has two branches. In the first branch, we partnered with several HBUCs and the University of Puerto Rico to provide a 9-week in-person research experience at WVU Health Sciences Center that emphasized URM students. The second branch of NURO was conducted online, during which undergraduates from two Ukrainian universities (Ukrainian Catholic University and National Technical University of Ukraine) conducted research in computational neuroscience. The undergraduates from Ukraine trained in engineering and data sciences are severely disadvantaged; as the war rages on, many are displaced and face an uncertain future. For many high school students in West Virginia, educational and research experience opportunities outside the state school system are limited, which disadvantages them when applying to universities. We also conducted a WVU Brain Camp that lasted a week and recruited rising third year high school students from Morgantown, West Virginia. The in-person Brain Camp comprised visiting WVU neuroscience labs, listening to lectures, and participating in educational activities. The importance of research experiences to undergraduates is extremely high, maintaining their interest in science and exposing them to the opportunities and potential mentors in academia. In conclusion, our outreach program has expanded and reached a broader audience; it continues to have a positive impact on people of all ages in our community and globally.
Summer Math Camp
2023: Report on the filed trip by Dr. Yang: During an enlightening afternoon field trip to the Brain Models Lab at the School of Medicine, students made an intriguing discovery about the inner workings of the brain and the mathematical principles underlying it. As the students engaged in various interactive activities, they delved into the intricate process of how neurons transmit information. Captivated by their experiences, I had the opportunity to capture numerous snapshots of students engrossed in these neuron-inspired endeavors.
Brain Awareness Week
2024: Outreach activities were carried out at Suncrest Elementary School. On the 26th of March, graduate students and Dr. Gritsenko arrived at the school at 1:15 pm, tours of 2nd grade classrooms started at 1:30 pm. They talked about the brain hemispheres and neurons and children made hemispheres out of play dough and neurons out of pipe cleaners. They gave away brain erasers and bottles for teachers. The whole event lasted 2 hours with about 30 min spent in each classroom. Overall, more than 100 children participated. The second visit was for 5th graders occurring on Wednesday, the 27th of March, from 1 to 3 pm. The students came to a classroom in which we setup activities. The activities included presentations and explanation of visual illusions, demonstration of reflexes and surface electromyography, myoelectric control of a mechanical claw using Backyard Brains, games with mechanical models of arms with movable 3D printed joints and elastic muscles, and making neurons out of pipe cleaners. More than 80 children participated.
2025: The West Virginia Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience organized a positive experience for students of middle and elementary schools in Morgantown WV. The goal was to educate children in elementary school about how the nervous system works. Three children from Suncrest Middle School and St. Francis Central Catholic School carried out two visits to Suncrest Elementary School and delivered educational sessions to 2nd and 5th-graders. Graduate students from West Virginia University assisted with the presentations for 5th graders. For 2nd graders, we gave them a presentation about brains of different animals and let them make their own brain out playdough. Four classes of about 25 children in each participated in the activity. For 5th graders, we set up multiple stations that taught different concepts. The stations were 1) making a neuron out pipe cleaners that taught about the components of the neuron and what they do; 2) coding a brain on wheels (Backyard Brains) that taught about sensory processing; 3) electromyography claw (Backyard Brains) that taught about myoelectric control of devices; 4) muscle anatomy models that taught about biomechanics; and 5) interactive muscle flower display that taught about neural control of muscle contractions. Three classes with about 25 children in each rotated through the stations, each class received 30-minutes of interactive instruction. The elementary school children obtained a better understanding of how the brain and muscles work. Some 5th graders were interested in learning more about neuroscience as a profession. The 3 middle school children obtained a deeper understanding of the joys and difficulties of teaching. This was a positive experience for all involved, the middle schoolers want to do this again and engage more of their friends.