Science Center Unveils Plans for Groundbreaking Brain Exhibit
Nearly $1 million in Quantum Foundation funding allows for construction to begin this summer
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Assembling a roster of the region’s elite brain research organizations, the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium’s A Journey Through the Human Brain will be the nation’s most advanced exhibit on the most complex organism in the universe, the human brain. A just-announced $900,000 gift to the Science Center from Quantum Foundation allows construction to begin on the $2.4 million, 2,500-square-foot permanent exhibit scheduled to open early in 2019.
The Science Center is realizing this world-class exhibit in partnership with FAU’s Brain Institute. In addition to Quantum Foundation, they have been joined by Max Planck Institute for Neuroscience, Scripps Research Institute of Florida, the Stiles-Nicholson Foundation and Palm Healthcare Foundation.
“We are excited to see researchers from all of these great organizations collaborating so effectively and it shows that all of them are motivated by the desire to give back to their community by communicating about their work in ways we all will understand”, said Lew Crampton, Science Center President and CEO. “This exhibit will offer an experience never seen before as visitors become immersed in understanding the basics of how their brains operate in complex ways to create senses, thoughts and emotions like joy, anger, confidence and fear. Our visitors will also learn more about how to live their own healthy brain lifestyles and how to pursue rewarding careers in neuroscience and related STEM fields.”
A Journey Through the Human Brain will take a bottom-up approach to telling the story of the human brain, from the molecular and cellular level to the integrated circuitry that creates our hopes, fears and memories.
“This exhibit specifically addresses Quantum Foundation’s priority areas and it is an honor to partner with such prestigious organizations to bring it to our local community,” said Donna Mulholland, chairman of the board of trustees for Quantum Foundation. “In addition, over the past 10 years, the Palm Beach County School District medical academies have been heavily funded by Quantum Foundation and this exhibit will highlight local health science career professionals, the work they are doing and their backgrounds, and present them as role models for students to emulate in pursuing careers in healthcare.”
Quantum Foundation is the largest Palm Beach County-based health funder with 100% of grant dollars used to support local communities. The organization is impact-focused, and its current funding strategy seeks projects that result in better engagement in health and greater access to resources for health. Since it began grantmaking 20 years ago, Quantum Foundation has given away over $125 million to more than 450 organizations. The foundation has approximately $150 million in assets.
“The exhibit will also highlight our recent work with Center for Child Counseling regarding Adverse Childhood Experiences, how they can be recognized and avoided, and local resources available to families,” continued Mulholland. “As a health-focused foundation, it addresses so many of our Foundation’s priority areas and we are delighted to play a role in funding it.”
The Stiles-Nicholson Foundation donated $750,000 to the exhibit. “We are very pleased to partner with these prestigious organizations to provide a world-class, unique and exciting exhibit A Journey Through the Human Brain,” said David Nicholson, BSc., LLD, CFA, chairman and founder of the Stiles-Nicholson Foundation. “Now more than ever, there is a critical need to stimulate interest in the STEM disciplines in the US as we are ranked No. 25 in science and No. 35 in math out of 72 countries in the developed world. As advances in neuroscience are made, the Science Center’s A Journey Through the Human Brain will adapt and transform many of those advances into stimulating updated interactive STEM exhibits for students. Even though students are only 25% of the population, they represent 100% of our future.”
A Journey Through the Human Brain will comprise an entire new west wing of the Science Center and encompass four galleries. The Introductory Gallery emphasizes the theme of the exhibit and will even feature walk-through brain mist and a 3D brain projection. An immersive “Brain Room” will show how much activity goes on in the brain every second. The “Thoughts and Emotion” gallery will show how much effort the brain goes through to lie. The “Senses Gallery” will allow visitors to explore sight, taste, smell, hearing and touch. A special “Brain Bar” will play host to experts who will be able to share their knowledge with guests and demonstrate high tech and cutting-edge Virtual Reality technologies used to visualize brain structure and function.
The neuroscience academic guidance for A Journey Through the Human Brain exhibit is being provided in part by the ASCEND program at the FAU Brain Institute. According to Dr. Randy Blakely, Executive Director of the FAU Brain Institute as well as Professor of Biomedical Science in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, “the brain is endlessly fascinating, whether exploring how it generates our hopes and dreams or what goes wrong in brain disorders. Neuroscientists are giving us an increasingly detailed picture of how the brain is built and works, and we hope through this exhibit to inspire young minds to delve even deeper into brain science.”
Visitors of all ages will learn the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle to support brain function as well as explore careers in neuroscience. A “Brain Sciences Room” will highlight advances neuroscientists in South Florida are making in unraveling aspects of brain development, signaling and plasticity and in detecting, preventing and treating disorders of the brain such as addiction, depression, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and concussion.
A total of $2.2 million has been raised toward a final goal of $2.4 million and some funding opportunities are still open for participation.
The South Florida Science Center and Aquarium is located at 4801 Dreher Trail North in West Palm Beach and is open Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. The indoor/outdoor venue features more than 100 hands-on educational exhibits, a 10,000-gallon fresh and salt water aquarium, a digital planetarium, conservation research station, Florida exhibit hall, Pre-K focused “Discovery Center,” an interactive Everglades exhibit and the 18-hole Conservation Course – an outdoor putting course with science-focused education stations. For more information, call 561-832-1988 or visit www.sfsciencecenter.org. Like the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium on Facebook and follow them on Twitter and Instagram @SFScienceCenter.
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