Brain Mappers of Tomorrow (Australian Session)

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre 

Since 2020, the Diversity and Inclusivity Committee has promoted this annual event as a way to increase participation from OHBM members from all around the world so that they can share their love for science with the next generation of neuroscientists. We also aim to promote family-friendly activities during OHBM 2025. This is a timely event as it removes language barriers that typically prohibit some members of OHBM from giving oral presentations. We are proposing a one-hour event, in which the goal is to communicate science to kids attending OHBM together with their parents (who live locally or are the children of scientists who attend OHBM), help them develop critical thinking, and actively engage them in the scientific process.

The aim of the proposed roundtable comprise the following learning objectives for the target audience:
1. Foster a sense of wonder regarding the brain by presenting findings to children in an age-appropriate manner.
2. Educate children in the area of brain function - a topic that is commonly not covered in school - such that they consider the black box that they carry around more deeply.
3. Gently introduce the scientific methods we engage in when performing experiments to endow the children with a sense of critical thinking and skepticism. This objective is becoming more important to consider when conditioned on the disinformation available on social media, including on topics relating to the brain and behavior, for instance.  

The target audience is children aged 8-15. Children will be recruited beforehand by advertising with local schools as well as among OHBM attendees who may bring their children to the conference.