The structures remain the same. You will always have 4 brain lobes (frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital), a cerebellum (involved in coordination of movement and balance) and many gyri (bumps of the brain) and sulci (grooves of the brain).

​However, everything you do in your life can have an impact at a cellular level (brain cells/ neurons). After you are born, your brain will get larger as it creates new brain cells. Your brain will keep growing until about 18 years of age. Every time you learn something, you create new connections between brain cells. You are also able to re-shape these brain connections through new experiences. This is called brain plasticity and continues throughout life!  

No! There are many parts of the brain. We start the BrainReach year by describing the 4 lobes of the brain, as well as the cerebellum and brainstem. However, if we were to slice the brain in half lengthwise, we would see many other structures that are deep inside the brain. For example, you would see the corpus callosum (which connects the left and right hemisphere of the brain), and structures of the limbic system (involved in emotions, learning and memory). Every single part of the brain is connected. For example, injuring a part of the limbic system can impact connections it has with the frontal lobe.

Crowds gathered around the Science Centre at the Old Port on June 8-10, 2018 for the Eureka festival. It was BrainReach’s first time participating, and we had a blast! In the beautiful, sunny weather, our volunteers welcomed people of all ages, from school groups to families to curious individuals. We did some activities on touch perception, taste and smell, and of course our ever-popular brain and microscope activities. The kids may have come for the skittles, but they stayed for the science.

Congratulations to this year's Volunteer of the Year award winners!

High School winner: Lawrie Shahbazian 
Lawrie just completed her M.Sc. in Dr. Stefano Stefani's lab at McGill University, and has been volunteering with BrainReach High School for the past 2 years. Not only does Lawrie consistently receive positive feedback from her classroom teachers, but she also volunteers regularly to represent BrainReach for Explore McGill and other one-day events. This year, Lawrie went above and beyond to organize a brain dissection activity on campus for a group of CEGEP students! We'd like to thank Lawrie for all her hard work. Congratulations on being named this year's BrainReach High School - Volunteer of the Year!

Elementary School winner: Edwin Wong
Edwin just completed his M.Sc. in Dr. Tim Kennedy's lab at McGill University, and has been volunteering with BrainReach Elementary for the past 3 years. We are constantly receiving positive feedback about Edwin's amazing teaching skills. Edwin modifies the BrainReach presentation slides to best suit his teaching ability and to improve upon the content delivered to his students. Throughout the school year, Edwin is often the first to volunteer to represent BrainReach at one-day events, including Explore McGill, the Gairdner Event and McGill's Explorations Summer Science Program. Thank you to Edwin for all his efforts and passion for teaching! Congratulations on being named this year's BrainReach Elementary - Volunteer of the Year!

North winner: Reiko 
Reiko is working on her Ph.D. in Dr. Robert Zatorre’s lab at McGill University. She has been volunteering with BrainReach North for the past 2 years doing all sorts of jobs that make our teaching materials look great. This year, Reiko almost single-handedly put together our first animated video about brain sizes and shapes, providing a hands-off teaching tool for educators and students in remote communities and giving BrainReach North a model for our content going forward. She also designs our newsletter and prepares it to be sent out to teachers every month. Reiko is a diligent and hard worker, and clearly cares a lot about our goal of making (neuro)science more accessible. We’d like to thank Reiko for her effort and enthusiasm! Congratulations on being named this year's BrainReach North - Volunteer of the Year!