Outreach Outreach and informal education materials
We have adapted several of our activities for use in outreach or informal education settings, such as museums or science camps. Each of these activities includes a lesson plan that details the materials, preparation, and implementation of the activity. Most of these materials were developed for our Neuroscience Day event, and may refer to a booklet used for that project.
If you use or adapt any of our activities for an event, please let us know! We love to share and promote collaborations with other organizations and events.
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Sheep Brain Dissection
In this activity, students learn brain anatomy using the sheep brain. Students are encouraged to learn and use terminology of anatomical directions to describe relative locations of brain structures. They dissect the brain in different planes of orientation, and are encouraged to talk about brain structures found within different planes of orientation. Students begin the activity by identifying structures found on the outside of the brain and then begin the dissection by removing the meninges. Following the removal of the meninges, students look at the ventral side of the brain to identify the optic chiasm and the olfactory bulb. Students then slice the brain sagittally to identify white matter tracts and ventricles. Students further examine the sagittal slice and identify other brain structures found within it such as the thalamus and hypothalamus. Finally, students are asked to dissect the brain coronally to identify brain structures like the hippocampus, which is involved in learning and memory processes. After students have completed the brain dissection they are encouraged to look at the brain and skull models of other animals (including humans) and compare the differences in relative size of the brain structures. Updated in 2013