Kids Corner

People

An Inside Look at The Brain
With Senior Scientist
Dr Bhavleen Kaur

PATRICIA D'CUNHA

 

 

 





“If I only had a brain,” Scarecrow says in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ he could “unravel any riddle” and explain why the “ocean’s near the shore.”

The complex and evolving organ -- the nucleus of our central nervous system -- controls how we think, feel, sense, and examine the world around us. The brain also has the ability to adjust and alter following disability and trauma.

A new exhibit at the world renowned Ontario Science Centre (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), which opened on Wednesday, November 19, 2014, explores the inner workings of the brain and how it has evolved over time through the use of art, brain imaging, and interactive elements.

Brain: The Inside Story’ is on tour from the American Museum of Natural History and runs at the science centre until March 29, 2015.

The exhibit aims to capture the latest innovations in the field of neuroscience. It features cutting-edge technology and research being explored by the scientific community to study and treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

“The exhibition brings visitors up to date on the latest neuroscience and highlights the workings of the brain and how the brain, when it’s injured, is able to rewire itself,” said Dr Bhavleen Kaur, a senior scientist at the Ontario Science Centre.

The exhibit will draw on artistic, innovative and interactive approaches to tell the story. For example, visitors will also be able to walk through a tunnel of firing neurons, created by Spanish artist Daniel Canogar.

“[It] feels like you’re walking through the brain and the electrical and chemical signals are firing back. That’s just an amazingly sensory experience, and I think people are really going to enjoy that,” Bhavleen said.

A preserved human brain will also be on display, as well as the brain of someone who was living with Alzheimer’s.

“You get a visual view of what happens to the brain when someone experiences Alzheimer’s and Alzheimer symptoms,” Bhavleen said.

Some of the other exhibit elements include:

*  Brain lounge: watch brain scans of a professional basketball player as he/she scores a basket and reacts to the crowd’s cheer

*  See how a musician’s brain lights up to different genres of music

*  Check out a glowing 245-centimetre model of the subcortical brain and a deep-brain stimulation implant

*  Research Live: visitors can contribute to scientific studies such as concussion research

*  Wild, Wild World: experts discuss animal communication with live animals

Visitors will also be able to try interactive games, puzzles, brain-teasers, and other activities at BrainFest, to test their brain and improve memory.

“I think visitors will be fascinated with the complexity of their brains. Brains change with every bit of information that is taken in,” Dr. Rob DeSalle, a curator at the American Museum of Natural History’s Division of Invertebrate Zoology, said in a release.

Dr Bhavleen Kaur said the exhibit also gives people an opportunity to learn about research taking place in labs, adding, “this is not something you’re going to learn in your textbook.”

She said researchers have also been involved in curating the exhibition. The Ontario Science Centre partnered with the Ontario Brain Institute -- which sponsors research projects involving the brain -- to help develop the exhibit’s programming.

*   *   *   *   *

Dr. Bhavleen Kaur first joined the Ontario Science Centre in October 2006 as an Educator with the Science Education branch.

She holds a Ph.D. from Dalhousie University, a M.Sc. in Ecology and Aquatic toxicology and a B.Sc. in Zoology from Punjab University, Chandigarh, Punjab.

Prior to this, she worked at the Royal Ontario Museum, Children’s Technology Workshop and SuperNOVA camps developing science based programs for school groups and summer camps. She also worked as a seasonal lecturer at the Mount Saint Vincent University and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.

Dr. Bhavleen Kaur started her role as Senior Scientist in the Science Content and Design branch at the Ontario Science Centre in 2011. In 2014, she was selected as the Centre’s TELUS Innovator, which recognizes staff members at TELUS-sponsored science centres across Canada who exemplify the TELUS “Courage to Innovate” value.

As a senior scientist, Bhavleen is involved in the exhibition development process, providing science content direction and research, working with designers to develop concepts and prototype exhibit ideas, writing copy and liaising with experts in the field.

As a member of the Ontario Science Centre team, Bhavleen has been the lead on biotechnology programs like DNA Fingerprinting and Bacterial Transformation labs, worked on a project to incorporate Audience Response Systems into programs, and developed inquiry-based workshops on topics of electricity, optics and heat.

She also contributed to The AstraZeneca Human Edge, a permanent addition to the Science Centre that won an award for Best Exhibit or Show under the Large Institution category at the 2014 CASCADE Awards.

Dr. Bhavleen Kaur’s doctoral research into microbial life on the wreck of the Titanic led to the discovery of a new bacterial species, Halomonas titanicae. For this discovery, her team was awarded the Top Ten New Species Award in 2010 by the International Institute for Species Exploration at the Arizona State University.


“Brain: The Inside Story” is free with general admission to the Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.


[Courtesy: City News and the Ontario Science Centre. Edited for sikhchic.com]
November 20, 2014 

Conversation about this article

1: Kaala Singh (Punjab), November 20, 2014, 10:58 AM.

This is the future of Sikhi! People like Dr. Bhavleen Kaur are the ones who will take us forward and not the sword wielding monkeys who fight among themselves to control gurdwara funds and defame the whole community.

2: Harinder Singh (Punjab), November 21, 2014, 6:58 AM.

Congratulations, Bhavleen Kaur ji. Wish you every success in the future ...

Comment on "An Inside Look at The Brain
With Senior Scientist
Dr Bhavleen Kaur"









To help us distinguish between comments submitted by individuals and those automatically entered by software robots, please complete the following.

Please note: your email address will not be shown on the site, this is for contact and follow-up purposes only. All information will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Sikhchic reserves the right to edit or remove content at any time.