Brain Expo Media Kit
2009 Brain Expo Media Alert
*** MEDIA ALERT***
Brain Expo Helps Bring Science Education to Local Seventh-Graders Even As Educators Face State Budget Cuts
ATLANTA — The Brain Expo — a fun, interactive science education program created by neuroscientists at Georgia State University’s Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (CBN) — is helping a local middle school provide its seventh-grade students with a free, hands-on science education experience even as educators are being forced to make budget cuts amid Georgia’s decreasing state revenues.
The expo is a unique partnership between the CBN and Decatur City Schools’ Renfroe Middle School, which will bring 180 seventh-grade students to Zoo Atlanta on Friday, April 24, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for a whimsical, mind-boggling science event.
While at the event, students will participate in hands-on teaching stations that present short neuroscience lessons designed to engage the students in interesting topics ranging from brain cells and anatomy, to learning, memory, and neurological disorders.
For example, expo participants can touch real brains, visit “Sparky,” the 40-foot neuron model, and wear visual distortion goggles to experience how alcohol disrupts normal brain functions such as vision and coordination.
“Science literacy is a challenge nationwide, and our scores compared with scores of other countries are declining. So it is important we work with our local schools and community on science education events such as the expo,” said Kyle Frantz, Ph.D., Brain Expo director and a professor of neuroscience at Georgia State University. “Our surveys have shown that most high school seniors are not ready to make a C or better in college science courses, so we are trying to get them more excited about science at a younger age. Our data indicate that students find neuroscience more fun and interesting and are more likely to see neuroscience as a potential career choice after participating in the expo.”
The expo is sponsored by the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, and Zoo Atlanta.
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About the CBN
The Center for Behavioral Neuroscience is a consortium of seven metro Atlanta colleges and universities including: Georgia State University, Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Spelman College. More than 100 neuroscientists are engaged in the research program with the goal of understanding the basic neurobiology of social behaviors. The CBN also directs a comprehensive education program designed to educate the next generation of scientists. For more information go to www.cbn-atl.org.
About Zoo Atlanta
An accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), Zoo Atlanta inspires value and preservation of wildlife through a unique mix of education and outdoor family fun. From well-known native wildlife to critically endangered species on the brink of extinction, the Zoo offers memorable close encounters with more than 1,000 animals from around the world. The Zoo’s newest attraction, Boundless Budgies: A Parakeet Adventure, opened in April 2009. The interactive new experience is the largest of its kind in the Southeast. Zoo Atlanta is also the proud home of Xi Lan, the only giant panda cub born in the U.S. in 2008. Other highlights include one of the nation’s most recognized collections of great apes and a global center of excellence for the care and reproduction of vanishing amphibians and reptiles. Zoo Atlanta is open daily with the exceptions of Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Keeper talks, interactive wildlife shows, education programs and special events run year-round. For more information, call 404.624.WILD or go to zooatlanta.org.
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General Expo Video
View video
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Expo Learning Stations Descriptions
Click here for a listing of the Expo's interactive learning stations
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Schedule
9:30 a.m. - Students arrive at the Zoo
10:00 a.m. - Expo morning session begins
11:40 a.m. until 12:10 p.m. - Break
12:10 p.m. - Expo afternoon session begins
2:30 - Students return to Renfroe
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Location
Zoo Atlanta
Ford Pavilion
Zoo map
* Media must report to the Administration Building in front of the zoo before proceeding to the expo.
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Contacts:
Martha Barker Koontz
Communications and Public Relations
Center for Behavioral Neuroscience
Phone: 404.413.5464
Keisha Hines-Davis
Director of Public Relations and Communications
Zoo Atlanta
Phone: 404.624.5980
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2008 Expo Photos
Friday, April 4, Brain Expo Photo Gallery
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