BRAIN: The World Inside Your Head

What’s more important than your brain? This quintessential organic computer is responsible for every thought, every motion and every response your body makes. Life itself is determined by brain activity. It defines the very essence of being human. With credentials like these, it’s no wonder that the brain is the subject of Evergreen Exhibitions’ blockbuster touring exhibit, BRAIN: THE WORLD INSIDE YOUR HEAD. Designed to appeal to audiences of all ages, BRAIN employs innovative special effects, 3-D reproductions, hands-on learning activities and interactive technology to delve into the inner workings of the brain, including its processes, potentials and mysteries. Sponsored by Pfizer Inc, BRAIN literally takes you inside the head. Probe the geography of a giant brain. Stand in the midst of the brain’s constant electrical brainstorm as thoughts and sensations are generated. Along the special journey, visitors will discover how the brain learns and thinks. They’ll learn the secrets of sleep and dreams and the dangers, causes and cures of disorders, diseases and mental illnesses. Plus, the exhibit takes visitors into the future of medical and technological exploration of the brain.

The Experience:

We walk into a shimmering tunnel—the midst of a functioning human brain. Brain cells—neurons—engulf us. Flashing fiber-optics illuminate networks of neurons firing and communicating. A gallery of animal brains prompts basic questions: How is our brain the same as those of other animals? How are we different?

Brain Bites fly along neuronal tendrils, providing surprising messages about the size, speed, and complexity of the brain. The message is clear: Your brain is exciting. Your brain is surprising. Your brain is always changing. From this dynamic beginning, “BRAIN: The World Inside Your Head” invites visitors deeper into the brain to discover its basic workings—the fact that all brain function, everything we are and do, begins with neurons and synapses, electricity and chemistry.

Here is an exploration of the revitalizing nature of sleep and the process of individual brain development. Then a look back through history at how we’ve learned about the brain, with an emphasis on brain evolution, the bizarre story of Phineas Gage, and today’s amazing brain imaging technologies.

Visitors then experience the reality of brain differences—disorders, accidents, irregularities. Sometimes these differences augment brain capability—for example, Albert Einstein—often they impair it, as with such common conditions as Alzheimer’s, depression, addiction disorders, and others. These presentations will not only inform, they will destigmatize these conditions.

Visitors will also explore the relationship between depression and creativity, how drugs work in the brain, and the nature of pain. They will encounter the future of brain treatments in our new era of genome mapping and molecular medicine. And, finally, visitors will explore the most mysterious aspect of brain investigations, the mind and the nature of consciousness.

By the end of this experience-based, interactive adventure visitors will enjoy a new appreciation of the amazing brain. They will understand that Your Brain is You!

Now At:

Bridgeport, Connecticut
Discovery Science Center and Planetarium
May 25, 2024 – January 5, 2025

Content Collaborators:

National Institutes of Health
Society for Neuroscience
The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives

BRAIN premiered at The Smithsonian Institution.

Corporate Sponsor:
Pfizer Inc

Content Collaborators:
The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives
National Institutes of Health
Society for Neuroscience

Past Venues:
Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
OMSI, Portland, Oregon
SCITrek, Atlanta, Georgia
The Great Lakes Science Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana
NY Hall of Sciences, Queens, New York
Detroit Science Center, Detroit, Michigan
St. Louis Science Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Union Station, Kansas City, Missouri
Museo Tecnologico, Mexico City, Mexico
Museum of Science, Boston, Massachusetts
The Science Place, Dallas, Texas
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC
Pink Palace, Memphis, TN
Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI
The Health Museum, Houston, TX
Mid-America Science Museum, Hot Springs, AR
Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii
Louisville Science Center, Louisville, Kentucky
East Kentucky Science Center, Prestonville, Kentucky
Strategic Air and Space Museum, Ashland, Nebraska
Mayorkis Cultural Productions, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Rochester Museum & Science CenterRochester, New York
Prolat Entertainment, San Juan
Museo Tecnologico, Mexico City
Rocky Mount Children’s Museum, Rocky Mount, NC
Science Expo Center, Genova IT
Citta Della Scienza, Naples, IT
Museum of Discovery & Science, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Grand Rapids Public Museum, Grand Rapids, MI
Gateway Science Museum, Chico, California
Museum of Innovation and Science, Schenectady, NY
TheMuseum, Kitchener, ON
MOST, Syracuse, NY
Reuben H Fleet Science Center, San Diego, CA
Cade Museum for Creativity + Invention, Gainesville, FL
The Health Museum, Houston, TX
Minnetrista Museum & Gardens, Muncie, IN
Imperial Centre – Children’s Museum & Science Center, Rocky Mount, NC

Lease Information:
Call Christi Klingelhefer at 210-599-0045.