On April 25, the Neuroscience Graduate Student Association (NGSA) worked — with support from the psychology department — to host the 15th annual Brain Awareness Day at UC Riverside’s Student Recreation Center. Brain Awareness Day is intended to get younger students interested in neuroscience, as well as promote higher education and offer engaging learning opportunities to students underrepresented in the sciences. 

The NGSA is a student organization made up of current doctorate students in the neuroscience graduate program. NGSA hosts professional development seminars as well as social events throughout the year. While primarily an educational event, Brain Awareness Day aims to provide students with information in an accessible manner through interactive activities and a variety of booths. 

“Booths like neuroscience trivia, brain specimens, art galleries, and face painting help make learning about the brain fun and engaging,” NGSA outreach chair Courtney Scaramella said. “It's incredibly rewarding to see the excitement in their faces as they learn about research and start to think critically about science throughout their own daily lives.” 

Since its inception, Brain Awareness Day has grown in leaps and bounds. The event was first hosted in 2011. This year, NGSA could only accommodate half of the 20 interested schools. The 400 students who attended marks the largest Brain Awareness Day yet.

“Since 2022, we've been able to grow the event from about 100 students to over 400 by finding more funding sources and building relationships with local schools to boost participation and spread the word,” Scaramella said. “Most of our participants this year were 8th graders and highschoolers, thinking about what their next steps may be. By making this event freely accessible to students, who may not otherwise have had the opportunity to speak with professors or graduate students or see the inside of a lab space, we help inspire the next generation of scientists and show them how fun neuroscience can be outside of a classroom setting.”

Information about NGSA can be found at ngsa.ucr.edu/.

FEATURED PHOTO. A booth engages with visiting students by displaying models of the human brain, among others.