7:45am
Ride to Jefferson Elementary from two locations by San Diego Public Schools volunteers…

PICKUP LOCATION ONE:  Omni San Diego (675 L St, San Diego, CA 92101) John Harkness, Alex Camino, Allie Clark, Alfredo Zuniga, Jordan Blacktop

PICKUP LOCATION TWO:  Horton Grand Hotel (311 Island Ave, San Diego, CA 92101) Morgan Wirthlin, Andre Walcott, Scott Jones, Rebecca Hood

8:10am – 8:40am
Preparation and set up @ Jefferson

8:45am – 10:10am
We’ll be introducing ourselves to about 100 students – just knowing who our graduates and undergraduates are, where and what they study, why they do the research they do, how they got interested and inspired to learn more about the brain and behavior, is powerful experience.

After introductions, we’ll ask kids what they know already about the brain. We want to guide the conversation to what brains are made of – cells! – and how remarkable, diverse, unique and numerous these cells happen to be. We’ll ask questions like: how many neurons do you think you have? Do you have more than your teachers, or parents? How does the number of cells relate to what you can do?

We’ll also point out how neurons link together to form networks, to channel information along specific paths. Different networks do different things, including what you hear, see, think, remember, feel, pay attention to, and decide. Neural networks are critical, and that’s what kids refine as they experience their classroom, family life, the world. Many of these cells die off, while others build stronger connections, routing information in more useful and productive ways that let them accomplish more…

Then we’ll look at real brains! UCSD is sending 2-3 of their own undergraduate outreach volunteers with both human and animal brains for students to examine, plus some additional sheep brains that the students will be able to hold. Our volunteers will help introduce different parts of the brain, pointing out where important structures are, answering questions,…

After brain viewing, students will get pipe cleaners, and will start building their own brain cells, complete with cell bodies, dendrites, axons, myelin, nucleus, even DNA. Noggin volunteers will sit with groups of students and artist participants from Artreach, and build cells, while answering questions about neurons, synapses and the brain…

10:10am – 10:30am
Travel to Linda Vista Elementary; again, by volunteer drivers from San Diego Public Schools

10:30am – 10:55am
Preparation and set up @ Linda Vista

10:55am – 12:35pm
At Linda Vista, we’ll be introducing ourselves to about 150 students! We’ll proceed in the same way here… 🙂

12:35pm
Ride back to the Convention Center