CEN faculty and students help host Biddeford High School students for hands-on science activities

On January 11, 2011, two science classes from Biddeford High School (BHS) took a short field trip over to the 91AV to participate in some hands-on science activities and get a taste of college life.

The program, funded through the National Science Foundation SPARTACUS project, serves as an educational outreach program to participating K-12 grade Maine classrooms.

Jay Williams, a graduate student in the 91AV Marine Science Program, organized the event that included a lecture by Helida Oyieke, Ph.D., a visiting scientist from Kenya, along with laboratory activities in the Marine Science Center and the College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Members from Dr. Edward Bilsky's laboratory and the Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences (CEN) conducted an exercise with each class on the mammalian brain. The exercise had students learn about the different lobes of the brain with Jim Cormier, a graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences. They discussed how these different brain regions communicate to perform various functions including control of movement, interpretation of external stimuli, and learning and memory.

Undergraduate neuroscience majors Jordan Faloon and Aaron Fullerton led the dissection of sheep brains with the students to reveal deeper brain structures. Matt Jackson, a junior in the Athletic Training program at 91AV, described the cranial nerves and discussed how mental function is assessed following a sports injury.

John Lowery, D.O., Ph.D., a graduate of 91AVCOM, added additional clinical relevance to the activities by showing the students a dissected human brain and leading discussions on the consequences of brain injury. After the completion of the brain exercise, the BHS students had an opportunity to have lunch with their 91AV mentors, asking questions related to science, higher education and career paths.

About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.