March 6: Brain Blast 2004 at Adventure Science Center
This annual event gives visitors the opportunity to rub elbows with Vanderbilt neuroscientists and students during hands-on activities designed to probe the mysterious, magnificent regions of our body’s most intelligent organ.
“Brain Blast will stretch and stimulate your gray matter,” said Becky Matthews, an educator at Adventure Science Center. “The Vanderbilt neuroscientists who generously make this event possible provide plenty of opportunities to become a brain buff.”
At the center of 2004’s gray cell celebration is the 155,000-cubic-foot Brain Balloon, the most complex specialty-shaped hot-air balloon ever designed. Created by Dr. Scott R. Gibbs, a Missouri neurosurgeon, the balloon took five years to manufacture. Now, the lofty lobes travel to educational events around the world, inspiring understanding and appreciation of the brain.
The Brain Balloon will be inflated in front of the Science Center from 6:45-8:45 a.m. March 6, then deflated. It will be inflated again on the same day from 3:15-5:15 p.m. Hot-air balloons cannot fly or remain inflated at midday because of wind and other weather conditions.
Other Brain Blast activities for junior scientists include:
In addition to Brain Blast, Adventure Science Center will host two evening lectures for the adult brain in the center’s Jack Wood Hall. The lectures are free and open to the public.
March Lectures
“Obesity and the Obesity Epidemic” will be given at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 2. Hear the latest scientific facts on obesity from Roger Cone, Ph.D., Oregon Health and Science University, Center for the Study of Weight Regulation and Associated Disorders. The lecture is co-sponsored by the Vanderbilt Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, the Vanderbilt Diabetes Center and the Vanderbilt Brain Institute.
“The End of Stress as We Know It,” the Brain Awareness Keynote Address, is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 23. Bruce McEwen, Ph.D., Alfred E. Mirsky Professor, Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, Rockefeller University, will speak about how stress is inevitable, but “stressing out” is avoidable. McEwen will elaborate on the relationship between brain function and stress reactions. He also will be signing his book, “The End of Stress as We Know It,” after his remarks. The lecture is co-sponsored by the Vanderbilt Center for Molecular Neuroscience and the Vanderbilt Brain Institute, and supported by a grant from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.
Adventure Science Center’s regular hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 12:30-5:30 p.m. Sunday. Admission, which includes Brain Blast activities, is $8.75 for adults and $6.75 for children ages 3-12 and seniors age 65 and older. The Science Center is located at 800 Fort Negley Blvd. For more information, call 862-5160 or visit the Web site at www.adventuresci.com.