Meet the brain

Fourth grade wrapped up their nervous system study today with a presentation from Brown University's Dr. Theresa Desrochers and Dr. Christopher Moore.

 

Their specialty is neurology, but their presentation drew in anatomy, topology, zoology, biology, phenomenology and electrical engineering.

 

There was even some mortuary science.

 

The scientists had brought with them one and a half preserved human brains.

 

For their nervous system work, students had learned about the basic building blocks of neurology: neurons, sense organs and the spinal cord.
 

But it was also their first time learning about a true biological system, in which thousands of small, simple organs work together to create something unbelievably complex.
 

And today, they got up close and personal with the grandmaster, the organ that pulls it all together.

 

It was an awe-inspiring and humbling moment.

 

For some of the students, the sight of the brain was the answer to a question they've had for a long time. 

 

For many, it was the start of a whole new set of questions.

 

 

More photos are online at Gordon's Flickr page