Saturday Science is a Zuckerman Institute initiative that aims to nurture a love for neuroscience in the Harlem community. Once a month, centered on a theme, Zuckerman hosts an interactive science fair full of hands-on activities and informative (but fun) stands. Participants receive a passport at the entrance, and are encouraged to collect stamps from each of the various stands.
The Columbia Neuroscience Society sends college students every month to run some of the stands, and we are in charge of coming up with engaging activities, including both a debriefing of background knowledge, an interactive portion (for which the Zuckerman institute provides resources), and a presentation of current related research being done.
This semester I participated as one of the instructor/coordinators and it was truly an amazing experience. The theme of the day was illusions ("Trick Your Brain"), and I presented a workshop on auditory illusions, specifically how your auditory memory can influence how your brain interprets auditory stimuli. I definitely intend on participating regularly next semester.
This experience is connected to my research as it not only sparked interest in youth who attended the event, but it also reminded me of why I became interested in the brain in the first place. The inquisitive minds around me, especially when we spoke about current research being conducted in the Zuckerman Institute. Many of the parents asked me who I was and were interested in hearing about my research.
I felt a similar excitement at the Columbia Neuroscience Society's Brain Awareness Week fair on campus. Every year, we set up an array of fun stands, ranging from fun brain-healthy snacks to brain trivia in honor of Brain Awareness Week, a national initiative to raise awareness of the brain and mental health. We even had real brains the Zuckerman Institute had provided for passerbyes to feel and examine. I was in charge of the 'brain-touching 'and the Brain Trivia stands. People were so awestruck by the brain, and many wanted to play the brain trivia just to learn more cool facts. I guess this fascination was contagious, as I considered myself very lucky to be working with brains every week and engaging in the ongoing discourse on this mysterious organ.
