GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — With constant change in everyday news and continued economic uncertainty, there’s no better time to focus on your brain’s health.
The Brain Center of Green Bay hosted its 3rd Annual Brain Awareness event: Take Charge of Your Brain – It’s Kind of a Big Deal at the Brown County STEM Innovation Center, but organizers tried a different and more hands-on approach.
“We’re dropping eggs,” said New Leaf Prep Academy seventh grade student, Tripp Loch.
“Oh, this is awesome, this is our third year we’re doing the event here, but it’s the first time we’re inviting a school group in. So, we want to start younger and younger so kids are appreciating their amazing brains,” said Brain Center of Green Bay Executive Director, Chris Vanden Hoogen.
For the first time ever, New Leaf Prep Academy students were invited to learn about protecting their brains through an egg drop.
Seventh grade students Gabriel Dufek, Charlie Vanbensh, Tripp Loch and Christian Meyers formed a team to learn about brain health.
“It’s really fun, you should come try. It’s really educational,” all students said.
The boys teamed up to learn about the importance of helmets by making their own with everyday items in a matter of minutes.
“It was crazy. It was pretty chaotic. I burned myself a few times, but it was OK. At the end it was very stressful. We were trying to put the hot glue on, and we had lots of burns. It’s awesome. I’m so grateful,” the students said.
After finishing, everyone dropped their makeshift helmets to see if an egg—or a human brain—could handle the impact.
Some of the eggs did not make it, but Gabriel Dufek, Charlie Vanbensh, Tripp Loch and Christian Meyers never doubted themselves.
“Were you surprised to find out that when yours came down, it didn’t break,” Mac asked.
“We knew it was going to survive. We felt it in our hearts,” the boys added.
Brain Center of Green Bay Executive Director Chris Vanden Hoogen says educating people while they’re young can have a lasting impact on their brain’s overall health, and students say they’re having a blast while learning about it.
“So, we’re hoping that we’re planting some seeds. So, later in life they know how to take care of their brains, and they do the right things,” Vanden Hoogen said.
“Yeah, what was that like,” Mac asked.
“It was awesome. It was crazy,” the boys said.
Mac then asked, “was there a little bit of you guys wanting to see it break at all?”
“No,” the boys quickly exclaimed.
This was just part of the third annual brain awareness event.
Students also had the opportunity to learn about the power of pets, how their brains work, and what you can do to ensure a long and happy life.
“Stress management is one thing we do talk about, but these diseases that can impact our brain including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Dementia are becoming more prevalent. So all we can go throughout our life to make sure we don’t get these nasty diseases is what we want to take care of,” Vanden Hoogen said.
If you missed this week’s event, but you would like to learn more about improving your brain’s health, you can click here to learn more.