Science Friday Kids Connection

Show Date: April 4, 1997

http://www.npr.org/programs/sfkids/showarchive/sfkc.97.04.04.html

Hour One: Brain Research/Comet Hale-Bopp
This week, scientists announced that mice raised in stimulating environments actually develop more brain cells than mice with less stimulation. In this hour of Science Friday we look at these and other advances in neuroscience research.

Student Questions:
How might more stimulation relate to more brain cells?
How good a model for humans are mice?
What is neuroscience?
How do astronomers study comets?
What are comets made of?

Student Project: Brain Hieroglyphics

Visit Brain Heiroglyphics. Your job is to "read" the 18 different picture puzzles to make a single word or phrase. Each word or phrase has something to do with the nervous system. If the puzzle is a brain buster, you can click on the answer and even hear the way the word is pronounced. Some of the answers give you links to further information about the topic. Have fun deciphering these brain hieroglyphics.

If you like this activity, visit the source page for many more fun activities:

Neuroscience for Kids: Experiments and Activities

Resources:

BOOKS:

Boyles, Terry. The Mind: Slim Goodbody. Fairview Press. Minneapolis, 1996.
Graham, Nick, M.D. The Human Body. Running Press, Hong Kong, 1995.
Lindsay, Mary. The Visual Dictionary of the Human Body. Dorling Kindersley. New York, 1991.
Parker, Steve. How the Human Body Works. Reader's Digest Assn. Pleasantville, New York, 1994.
Parker, Steve. Eyewitness Science: The Human Body. Dorling Kindersley, New York, 1993.
Treays, Rebecca. Understanding the Brain: Lifting the Lid on What's Inside Your Head. Usborn Pub. London, 1995.
Van Cleave, Janice. The Human Body For Every Kid: Easy Activities That Make Learning Science Fun. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1995.
Vannini, Vanio & Guiliano Pogliani. The Color Atlas of Human Anatomy: Over 450 Illustrations in Full Color. Harmony Books, New York, 1990.

ON-LINE ARTICLES:

INTERNET SITES:

Science Friday Kids Connection is a project
sponsored by National Public Radio Outreach and KIDSNET.

Science Friday Kids Connection is made possible by grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Science Foundation in partnership with the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.

NPR is a federally registered service mark of National Public Radio.
Science Friday is a service mark of Samanna Productions.
KIDSNET is a registered trademark of Kidsnet.