The Brain

Neuroscience for Kids, a University of Washington project designed for Brain Awareness Week, is THE place for students and teachers who want to learn more about the brain. This site is loaded with information, so here are a few direct links to specific topics.

Neuroscience for Kids has been created for all students and teachers who would like to learn more about the nervous system. Enjoy the activities and experiments on your way to learning more about the brain and spinal cord.

• Home
• Brain Size
• The Skull
• Lobes of the Brain
• Cerebral Cortex
• Brain Fitness
• The Brain & Sleep
• Experiments & Activities
• Activities for Outdoors
• Songs & Jokes

Click on the brain parts to find out what job each part has.

How do nerve cells transmit a signal? At the Exploratorium dominoes are used to demonstrate this process.

KidsHealth (also available in Spanish) has a student section on the brain that includes facts, an engaging video, and a quiz. In addition, teachers' guides offer classroom activities, lesson plans, and handouts related to the brain and the nervous system - including making a model of the brain out of colored modeling dough. See the guides for grades K-2, grades 3-5, and grades 6-8.

Arizona State University's Ask A Biologist site has some great resources for your unit on the brain and nervous system.

• A Nervous Journey
• A Nervous Experiment with teacher's guide
• What's Your Brain Doing? and What's In Your Brain?

Fun Facts about the brain to share with your class.

More fun facts including an amazing optical illusion. You will want to cut and paste this illusion into your paint program to test what your eyes are telling you!!!

Students will enjoy experimenting with reaction time in these activities from Science Buddies and the Exploratorium.

For a wealth of facts about the brain and lots of resources for your teaching unit, take some time to explore this site, starting with the Basic Facts section.

Make a homunculus (brain map) in your classroom!

Scholastic offers an engaging Study Jam on the brain and the nervous system.

How does the brain decide what to focus on? How do magicians "play tricks" on the brain? PBS has fascinating video clips on attention and perception from NOVA and Dragonfly that will inspire your future neuroscientists.

Brainteasers for your students to exercise and challenge their brains.