NEUROSCIENCE+FOR+KIDS+APRIL+2014

NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER - Volume 18, Issue 4 (April, 2014)

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Welcome to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.

In this issue:

1. What's New at Neuroscience for Kids 2. Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month 3. Brain Awareness Week 4. Brain Awareness Week Video Contest 5 Bloomin' Brains Summer Camp 6. Summer Workshop for Teachers 7. Engineering Discovery Days 8. Media Alert 9. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia 10. Support Neuroscience for Kids 11. How to Stop Your Subscription

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<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">1. WHAT'S NEW AT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Neuroscience for Kids had several new additions in March including:

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">A. March Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">@http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news183.html <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">B. 2014 University of Washington Brain Awareness Week Open House <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">@http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/baw14oh.html <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">C. May and June 2014 Neurocalendars <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">@http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/may14.pdf <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">@http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/jun14.pdf <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">D. Concussions in Female Middle School Soccer Players <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">@http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/gcon.html

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">In March, 6 new figures were added and 25 pages were modified.

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<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for April is "Bluebrain" at:

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">@http://bluebrainfilm.com/bb/

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Bluebrain is an independent documentary film about the ongoing, global effort to understand the human brain. Filmmaker Noah Hutton's 10 year plan is to release one film each year. Currently, there are four short films available on the web site and a fifth short film will be released in 2014; a full length feature length film should be completed by 2024. Over the years, Hutton will document new discoveries and questions as progress is made to understand the brain through the Human Brain Project and the BRAIN Initiative.

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<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">3. BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is a international effort started by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and the Society for Neuroscience to promote the public and personal benefits of brain research. Last month, BAW was celebrated around the world with a variety of events including public lectures, open houses and lab visits.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Here at the University of Washington, approximately 650 students in grades 4-12 attended the BAW Open House. Students started the Open House with a multimedia "Brain Assembly" where they learned about neurotransmission, compared the brains of different animals and played with some visual illusions.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Students then visited exhibits set up by University of Washington departments and other organizations. The Neurobiology and Behavior Community Outreach Program had exhibits to test the senses and materials to build neuron models. The DO-IT program, UW Department of Otolaryngology, Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, Northwest Association for Biomedical Research, Department of Biology, Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering, Hope Heart Institute, Seattle Hydrocephalus Support Group, UW Dept. of Biological Structure, Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, Pacific Science Center, UW Neurobiology Club, Northwest Association for Biomedical Research, Edmonds-Woodway High School, UW Bloedel Center, and Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience all provided exhibits.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">This year the open house was supported by the Pacific Cascade Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience and the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">For more information about the open house, see:

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">@http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/baw14oh.html

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<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">4. BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK VIDEO CONTEST

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Does winning a trip to the 2014 Annual Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington, D.C. sound good to you? If your answer is "Yes," then submit a video to the Science for Neuroscience Brain Awareness Week Video Contest and you may be a winner. Your video must have a neuroscience theme and be no longer than five minutes. The deadline for video entries is June 12, 2014. For complete rules and prizes, see:

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">@http://www.brainfacts.org/educators/get-involved/articles-folder/2014-bavc/

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<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">5. BLOOMIN' BRAINS SUMMER CAMP

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Are you a middle school student interested in a summer "deep dive" into neuroscience and botany? Do you know a middle school student who is? If so, then the Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience free summer day camp is for you. This camp is part of my Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience grant from the National Institutes of Health.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">The 2014 "Bloomin' Brains" neuroscience summer day camp will be held on the University of Washington campus July 21-24 from 9 am to 3 pm each day, and supervised by teachers, graduate students, undergraduates and UW faculty. Parents are responsible for providing transportation to and from campus and for providing sack lunches. The application deadline is April 15. Campers will have the opportunity to:

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">- Conduct hands-on science experiments

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">- Learn about traditional uses of medicinal plants in Native cultures

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">- Explore the structure and function of the brain

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">- Visit the Burke Museum, UW Botany Greenhouse, and Medicinal Herb Garden

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">- Listen to real scientists talk about their careers

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">- Discover "the art of the brain" by constructing models

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">- Make a plant extract and tie-dye a shirt

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">- Research neuroscience at the UW computer lab

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">For more information about the camp and the application form, please visit:

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">@http://www.neuroseeds.org/home/2014-bloomin-brains-summer-camp

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Discover how much fun science can be!

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<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">6. SUMMER WORKSHOP FOR TEACHERS

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">You can call it a summer camp for teachers! Here at the University of Washington, we will hold a workshop for teachers August 4-8, 2014. During the workshop, teachers will work through the Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience curriculum. Teachers who complete the workshop will be able to check out Neuroseeds kits for use in their classrooms during the school year. For more information and workshop registration (deadline is April 15), see:

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">@http://www.neuroseeds.org/home/2014-teacher-workshop

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<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">7. ENGINEERING DISCOVERY DAYS

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">If you missed the University of Washington Brain Awareness Week Open House, don't worry. There is another opportunity to learn about science and engineering at the University of Washington Engineering Discovery Days.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Engineering Discovery Days is sponsored by the University of Washington College of Engineering and will take place in Seattle on April 25-26, 2014. Students and faculty members from all of the engineering departments will have hands-on exhibits for visitors.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">For more information about Engineering Discovery Days, see:

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">@http://www.engr.washington.edu/alumcomm/openhouse.html

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<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">8. MEDIA ALERT

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">A. "The Second Coming of Sigmund Freud" by Kat McGowan and "Brain-Machine Interface Could Give Voice to the Voiceless" by Gordy Slack in DISCOVER magazine (April, 2014).

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">B. The "Mozart & the Mind" series (San Diego, CA) pairs neuroscientists with musicians in performances, lectures and exhibitions. See:

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">@http://www.mainlymozart.org/series/mozart-the-mind/

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">C. "The Genetic Geography of the Brain" by Ed Lein and Mike Hawrylycz in SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN (April, 2014).

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">D. "The Power of Poison" is an exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History (New York, NY.) that is open until August 10, 2014. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">@http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/the-power-of-poison

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<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">9. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">A. Nearly $1 billion is spent on brain scans by people with headaches in the US. (Source: NBCNews; <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">@http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">)

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">B. Steven Hauschka, the placekicker for the Seattle Seahawks professional football team, received his undergraduate degree in Neuroscience from Middlebury College in 2007.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">C. Neuroscientist and Nobel Prize winner Rita Levi-Montalcini was born on April 22, 1909. She passed away on December 30, 2012.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">D. April is Alcohol Awareness Month, National Autism Awareness Month and Sports Eye Safety Month.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">E. The diameter of the common carotid artery in adults is 6 mm.