The Brain Days Program

Get to Know Your Brain Days centers on lessons that combine important neuroscience concepts about the brain with an emphasis on personal agency and the brain as part of the self. Teaching children about this incredible organ gives us a path to talk about self-growth and identity as well as introducing them advanced scientific topics in an accessible way.

Under the directions Drs. Eve De Rosa and Adam Anderson of Cornell’s Affect and Cognition Neuroscience Lab and Dr. Anthony Burrow of Cornell’s Purpose and Identity Processes Lab,  a group of Cornell undergraduate students works in teams to develop and deliver the Brain Days sessions. Our lessons have included topics such as parts of the brain, self-regulation, how brain cells form communities (networks) and emotions. To help teach these complex topics to kids as young as five years, we focus on hands-on, interactive designs and a lot of sharing ideas and questions.

Once a month, our undergraduate teams travel to the Syracuse Academy of Sciences to deliver these lessons. This charter school serves a majority-minority, low-income population in Syracuse, NY. The school’s commitment to science education and emphasis on college has a proven track record of helping otherwise underserved kids reach their goals. Each team of Cornell undergraduates also works with two Syracuse Academy of Sciences high school student interns, who help interact with the elementary school students, connecting with them and serving as role models. At the same time, the high school students receive valuable classroom and research experience, as well as mentorship from their undergraduate teammates.

At the same time, we collect scientific data on our program, such as whether the children enjoy our lessons and feel that they are learning, and how children’s academic performance is influenced by the Brain Days program. These data help us understand the benefits of bringing neuroscience into the classroom, and how we can continue making out program better. We have already demonstrated that children as young as Kindergarten can learn and benefit from neuroscience concepts, and rate the lessons as enjoyable. We are continuing to explore how gaining a sense of brain-ownership through our program can boost academic development as well.