Brain: The Inside Story

New York's American Museum of Natural History opens a new exhibition on November 20 called Brain: The Inside Story. According to the accompanying website the exhibit features these amazing components:

• a dramatic 6-foot-tall homunculus, a human figure with abnormal proportion that highlight how much of the brain is devoted to the sense of touch in different parts of the body; 
• a multimedia video piece with a clear resin brain that lights-up the functional areas used by a student dancer as visitors view a video that follows her while she auditions for Julliard 
• an engaging neuron gesture table that shows how brain cells connect and communicate with each other
• a glowing 8-foot-tall model of the subcortical brain (the region that includes evolutionarily “older” parts like the brain stem and cerebellum) that, by connections to exhibits, illustrates how the brain processes language, memory, and decision-making
• a deep-brain stimulation implant, the first of its kind on display in a museum
• a “brain lounge” where visitors can watch scans of the brain of a New York Knicks shooting guard as he reacts to the whoosh of the net and the roar of the crowd and see how the brains of musicians light up to classical and rock music. 

The website itself also has some terrific features including videos, interactive games (geared more toward younger kids) and a special site for teachers that includes an educators guide. If you check out the exhibit itself or just poke around the website, please comment below to let everyone know what you liked. The exhibit runs through August 15, 2011.

  --posted by Steve

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