WonderLab brings 'brilliant' brains to kids

Cramming for a biology or political science test isn't the best way to study. Many college students find themselves struggling to retain the information and grasp the concepts at the last minute. \nLearning and memorization are just two of the many functions the brain performs, and Saturday the WonderLab museum will explore those functions of the human brain and of other species with its Your Brilliant Brain workshop.\nYour Brilliant Brain is a workshop designed for both children and adults to discover a variety of different brains and how they operate. By hosting this workshop, WonderLab is connecting with its main exhibition for this year "Brain Teasers," which challenges one's brain to think outside its normal capacity, said Louise Schlesinger of WonderLab. \n"'Brain Teasers' challenges you to look at things in a new way," said Schlesinger. "Brilliant Brain info session shows you how your brain works and takes things from the outside world and how it normally perceives things."\nFor the workshop, WonderLab is teaming up with IU Assistant Professor of Psychology Julie Stout. Stout, along with several students from her lab and classes will guide the discussion about the brains. They will have tables set up with hands-on activities for each session and brains in glass jars, Stout said. \n"One of the main things we want to accomplish is to help people understand the brain," Stout said. "It's a fascinating thing, and we want people to be able to see it. We want to be able to make the brain a concrete idea instead of an abstract idea."\n One thing WonderLab has planned is making one's own brain. There will be a table set up with modeling clay where children and adults will able to use the clay to make a model of what they think their brain looks like, said Karen Jepson-Innes, coordinator for Your Brilliant Brain.\nWonderlab will hold two sessions of the workshop at 1 p.m. for children ages nine to 11 and a session following 3 p.m. for older youth, college students and adults. There will be a maximum number of 30 people per session. WonderLab hopes to give people a chance to see their brain and how it processes things, Jepson-Innes said. \n"One of our main goals is to give people an opportunity to see the brain," said Jepson-Innes. "We also hope the people at the sessions will be able to make a connection with the scientists and walk away with a better understanding of the brain and its functions."\nWonderLab is located at 308 West Fourth St. It's open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 to 5 p..m. Sunday. The cost is $5.50 for children, $6.50 for adults and $6.00 for seniors plus $5 for the workshop. \n"We consider this workshop enrichment that ties in with exhibits we have on the floor," said Schlesinger. "And that's something we always try to do. But like everything we do, it will be fun."\n-- Contact staff writer Maggie Bozich at mbozich@indiana.edu.