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Date March 16, 2026
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Photos: Rhode Island families enjoy a day of discovery at the Brown Brain Fair

Hundreds of local residents came to campus to explore brain puzzles, art projects and hands-on science experiments, all designed to make neuroscience fun and accessible for every age.

A young student and parent stop to touch preserved brain specimen as a graduate students points to its different parts.
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Since 2016, the Brown Brain Fair has brought hundreds of Rhode Islanders to campus each March. All photos Lynda Curtis/Brown University.

Rows of tables with colorful demonstrations and games entice parents and kids as they walk through the exhibits.
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This year, the free, all-ages event filled Sayles Hall with scientists, researchers and volunteers from more than 25 Brown laboratories and centers.

Brown students points to a colored coded brain model, pointing to different parts of the brain's anatomy and highlighting each function.
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More than 100 student volunteers set up stations, welcomed visitors and ran demonstrations throughout the day.

Small hands mold play doh into the shape of mini brains.
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Exhibits are designed to make neuroscience accessible through games, demonstrations and interactive activities.

Small child reaches for arts supplies at a table as a Brown staff member smiles and helps them create the craft.
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With pipe cleaners and beads, visitors could make neuron-shaped crafts among other arts projects.

a cardboard maze featuring Pac-Man and ghosts.
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Another game challenged participants to guide a growing nerve fiber through a Pac-Man-style maze, demonstrating how developing neurons find their way through the brain to form the connections that power thinking and movement.

Two young girls stop at a table to play a game, matching cups to the cards they see.
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To learn about cognitive sequence, Caroline Durand of Warwick, Rhode Island, plays a game where she must match the pattern on the card with the order of the cups.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The 2026 Brown Brain Fair brought a burst of brightness to a cool, overcast Sunday in mid-March, drawing hundreds of local children, families and community members to Brown University for a day of scientific discovery, hands-on learning and family fun.

Held on March 15, the free, all-ages event filled Sayles Hall with scientists, researchers and volunteers from more than 25 Brown laboratories and centers. Together, they transformed the space into a lively hub of interactive stations, experiments and games where visitors could test their knowledge of neuroanatomy, watch their brain waves appear on a screen, and explore how the brain powers memory, movement and more.

For more than a decade, the fair has turned complex brain science into activities designed to spark curiosity in learners of all ages. Luc Gagne, who traveled from Warwick, Rhode Island, said he has attended the event for years, bringing his two kids — now 10 and 16 — to campus again this year.

“The Brain Fair always has a lot of engaging things for the kids, and you learn something new every time,” Gagne said. “The talks are usually really good, and it’s fun to discover new things and keep up with science in general.” 

A parent and child try an exhibit together measuring electrical signals.
To show how the brain uses electricity to move muscles, a young resident from Barrington, R.I., clenches his fist, sending his arm’s electrical signal to his father and making his fingers twitch.

The annual event is organized by the Brown Brain Bee student group in collaboration with the Carney Institute for Brain Science and held in partnership with Brain Waves Rhode Island. Brown undergraduate Eric Jiang, co-president of the Brown Brain Bee, has helped to organize the fair since 2024. This year, more than 100 student volunteers set up stations, welcomed visitors and ran demonstrations throughout the day, he said.

“My favorite part of the fair is running the popcorn machine,” Jiang said. “Families and kids come over after interacting with robotic arms from BrainGate, seeing their brain waves scanned with EEG electrodes, or getting neurons painted on their faces. When we ask their favorite station or brain fact they learned, we hear everything from how memory works in the hippocampus to how long the longest neuron in the body is.”

At one of the fair’s busiest stations, participants watched the brain’s electrical signals in action. When one volunteer clenched their fist, sensors detected the electrical activity in their arm and transmitted the signal to another participant, causing their fingers to twitch — a surprising demonstration of how the brain uses electricity to communicate with muscles.  

Ashley Bentley of Barrington, Rhode Island, watched while her husband tried the experiment with their 6-year-old son.

“You could see my son’s little eyebrows furrow as he tried to figure out what in the world was going on,” Bentley said. “Moments like that are exciting — you know they’ll remember them forever. Anything that surprises them and makes them pause, look a little closer and explore a little deeper, it’s such a joyful way to spark curiosity and it’s fun that we can experience that curiosity together.”

Another game challenged visitors to guide a growing nerve fiber through a Pac-Man–style maze, following helpful magnetic signals while avoiding opposing, repelling ones. The activity demonstrated how developing neurons find their way through the brain to form the connections that power thinking and movement.

 

Tables throughout the fair offered local residents practical tips on maintaining a healthy brain. Attendees could learn about stroke prevention, addiction, sleep hygiene, breathing techniques for mental wellness, and strategies to support memory and healthy aging. Faculty and student researchers also led five-minute “lightning talks” on brain health, covering topics such as “Reality Isn’t Real: Neuroscience and the Pursuit of Consciousness” and “Glia: The Brain’s Unsung Heroes.”

Lulu Schulz, a Brown graduate student in molecular biology, cell biology and biochemistry, presented a talk related to her research on the cellular and molecular processes behind neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease.

“I hope people can walk away with a sense of wonder about the biology inside our cells,” Schulz said. “I hope they have optimism, too, that scientists are continuing to uncover new mechanisms behind diseases like Alzheimer’s so we can eventually find ways to treat or prevent them.”

Some families look forward to the event each year. Gagne said he plans to attend again, noting that his kids have been interested in science from a young age.

“It’s just what they know and what they like,” he said. “I’d love it if they continued with science. It’s important — it teaches you a different way of looking at the world. And events like this? They really love it.”

Tags
Brown and Providence Carney Institute Clubs and Organizations

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