February 19, 2004

Contact:
Amy Vineyard
avineyard@adventuresci.com
615-401-5059

Christi Williams
christi@seig-pr.com
615-327-7999

Nashville, TN - It's nine stories high, wrinkled, round and airborne. And next month, the colorful, mind-boggling Brain Balloon, surely the world's largest brain, will predominate at Brain Blast 2004. Hosted by Adventure Science Center and the Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Brain Blast takes place Saturday, March 6, 2004, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This annual event gives visitors the opportunity to rub elbows with Vanderbilt neuroscientists and students during hands-on activities designed to probe the mysterious, magnificent regions of our body's most intelligent organ.

"Brain Blast will stretch and stimulate your gray matter," said Becky Matthews, an educator at Adventure Science Center. "The Vanderbilt neuroscientists who generously make this event possible provide plenty of opportunities to become a brain buff."

At the center of 2004's grey cell celebration is the 155,000-cubic-foot Brain Balloon, the most complex specialty-shaped hot air balloon ever designed. Created by Dr. Scott R. Gibbs, a Missouri neurosurgeon, the balloon took five years to manufacture. Now, the lofty lobes travel to educational events around the world, inspiring understanding and appreciation of the brain.

The Brain Balloon will be inflated in front of the Science Center on March 6 from 6:45 to 8:45 a.m., then deflated. It will be inflated again on the same day from 3:15 to 5:15 p.m. Hot air balloons cannot fly or remain inflated at midday because of wind and other weather conditions.

Other Brain Blast activities for junior scientists include:

• Seeing a real human brain
• Tasting a Jell-O "brain"
• Playing stimulating brain games and puzzles, including "Pin the Brainstem"
• Making a "wearable" brain hat
• Building a model neuron
• Viewing brain-stumping optical illusions

In addition to Brain Blast, Adventure Science Center will host two evening lectures for the adult brain in the center's Jack Wood Hall. The lectures are free and open to the public.

March Lectures:

"Obesity and the Obesity Epidemic" will be given March 2 at 7 p.m. Hear the latest scientific facts on obesity from Roger Cone, Ph.D., from the Oregon Health and Science University, Center for the Study of Weight Regulation and Associated Disorders. The lecture is co-sponsored by the Vanderbilt Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, the Vanderbilt Diabetes Center and the Vanderbilt Brain Institute.

"The End of Stress as We Know It", the Brain Awareness Keynote Address, is set for March 23 at 7 p.m. Bruce McEwen, Ph.D., Alfred E. Mirsky Professor, Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, Rockefeller University will speak about how stress is inevitable, but "stressing out" is avoidable. McEwen will elaborate on the relationship between brain function and stress reactions. He also will be signing his book, The End of Stress as We Know It, after his remarks. The lecture is co-sponsored by the Vanderbilt Center for Molecular Neuroscience and the Vanderbilt Brain Institute, and supported by a grant from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.

For more than 59 years, Adventure Science Center has brought science to life for children in Middle Tennessee, Southern Kentucky, Northern Alabama and beyond. The center offers hands-on, interactive exhibits and engaging programs that encourage children of all ages to explore how science, invention and innovation affect their lives. Adventure Science Center is a place where imagination and curiosity are encouraged and all the senses are engaged in learning the excitement and fascination that the sciences engender.

Adventure Science Center's regular hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Admission, which includes Brain Blast activities, is $8.75 for adults and $6.75 for children ages 3 to 12 and seniors age 65 and older. The Science Center is located at 800 Fort Negley Blvd. For more information, call (615) 862-5160 or visit our web site at www.adventuresci.com.

Adventure Science Center's regular hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Admission, which includes Brain Blast activities, is $8.75 for adults and $6.75 for children ages 3 to 12 and seniors age 65 and older. The Science Center is located at 800 Fort Negley Blvd. For more information, call (615) 862-5160 or visit our web site at www.adventuresci.com.