Wisconsin Science Festival, 2018- Neuroscientist AMA: Pipe Cleaner Neuron Activity
Often, the brain is a very complex and extensive topic to cover, especially when instructing younger children. Below is a list of numerous neuroscience resources that are available to assist teachers who are teaching about the brain. Please contact us if you have any questions, would like to coordinate an NTP or N&PP visit to your classroom or group, or if you’d like assistance navigating these awesome resources!
The Neuroscience for Kids Website contains lesson plans, activities, FAQs, books and articles related to neuroscience, and more. You can subscribe to their monthly newsletter which highlights various events and activities. Check out their website! http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html
The Dana Foundation Dana Brain Alliance is a great resource for both teachers and students! This website offers a wide range of activities such as brain games, virtual lab experiments, and interesting articles about the brain. https://www.dana.org/educators/ or https://www.dana.org/resources/brainykids/
The National Institutes for Health (NIH) has an expansive list of teacher resources, you can find them here: http://nih.gov/science/education.htm#teachers
The Baylor College of Medicine has a website for science teacher resources which includes lesson plans and videos to complement lessons on the brain. http://www.bioedonline.org/lessons-and-more/resource-collections/neuroscience-the-learning-brain-and-brainlink/
The University of Utah Mouse Party is a great online activity that teaches students the effects of various drugs on the brain and includes a worksheet for students to follow along with. http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/mouse/
Brain Facts is a fun website that has countless helpful resources for teachers who instruct courses involving the brain. It offers everything from links for related current news and science articles on topics like brain development, movement, language, memory, sleep, mood, injury, addiction, and disorders to a “multimedia library” that contains a multitude of videos about the brain. Additionally, this website has a list of common myths about the brain called “Neuromyths” that it sets straight. http://www.brainfacts.org/
The National Institute on Drug Abuse has a specific section of their website dedicated to discussing the effects commonly abused drugs have on the brain. These lessons on the brain contain various modules, handouts and videos. Additionally, each lesson is aimed for a particular age group, ranging from Kindergarten to 9th grade, so teachers of all grade levels can benefit. http://www.drugabuse.gov/parents-educators
The New York Academy of Sciences website contains various videos, podcasts, and book recommendations for students of all ages. It even has a special page dedicated to Neuroscience where teachers can find numerous resources when teaching about the brain. http://www.nyas.org/Topic.aspx?tid=f66b4be9-eee5-46e1-b5bf-c72b858d3f5d
Frontiers for Young Minds is a website directed toward students as it is composed of various science articles that are reviewed by young students (ages 8 to 15). Since the articles have already been previewed by children, the topics covered on this website are often very relate-able to younger people. http://kids.frontiersin.org/
The Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society (EMB) has a very interesting video specifically created for students about what it’s like to be a biomedical engineer https://www.embs.org/videos/about-medical-engineering/
The website Brain U has various activities including lab and classroom experiments, dissections, and model building activities that teachers can utilize when forming lesson plans. Videos, movies, and animations are also available. http://brainu.org/
The BrainBank provides lectures and other teaching materials based on a series of lectures entitled “Meet Your Brain”. The teaching materials are broken down into three categories: brain biology, brain function, and the social brain. http://thebrainbank.org.uk/
Brain Awareness Week Video Contest, the Society for Neuroscience hosts a Brain Awareness Week video contest for people affliated with SfN members to create educational videos about neuroscience. The 2015 winners included “Do we see the same red?”, “How powerful illusions reveal coding in your brain” and “Your sixth sense”. These videos would be great additions to lessons! http://www.brainfacts.org/For-Educators/Programs-and-Events/Brain-Awareness-Video-Contest
Sketchfab is a brand new cellular source in which one of our students has has been developing of 3-D cell models. We have 2 real models currently and are working on scanning in an actual human brain. https://sketchfab.com/UW-Madison_NTP