As a counselor and AP Psychology teacher I am often asked if I am trying to get inside people's brains. This summer, thanks to a grant from the Thatcher Foundation, I had the opportunity to literally get inside the brain.
The Your Brain exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia invites you to think about how you think, and learn about what is happening inside your head as you go about you everyday life. The exhibit begins with a look at brain at the cellular level where neurons are firing. You then get see what parts of the brain controls functions throughout the body.
As you move along the exhibit you are able to actually crawl through gigantic model of the neural pathways inside the brain. It gives you a great feel for how complex the brain really is on the cellular level.
The second half of the Your Brain exhibit focuses on how we sense and perceive stimuli in our environment. It invites you to participate in several activities that makes you question if what you perceive in everyday life is accurate or something that our mind simply makes up.
While I was at the exhibit there were several classes of students going through the exhibit as well. It was great to see the wonder of the brain through their eyes. This exhibit gave me several ideas of new ways to teach the brain to our students at Darlington. It also allowed me to renew my passion for learning about the physical and chemical aspects of the brain.
