It is a part of Brain Awareness Week (BAW), an international project which promotes new discoveries in neuroscience and introduces them to the public. In the Czech Republic, the festival was established by the Czech neuroscientist Professor Josef Syka in 1998. This year’s 21st annual festival will open the doors of the Czech Academy of Sciences to the general public once again.

 

Multi-disciplinary lectures on brain

This year’s festival will include lectures by leading Czech specialists in the fields of theoretical and clinical neuroscience. The inquisitive mind will learn about artificial intelligence in a lecture which will particularly focus on deep neural networks. Another lecture, called ‘Mozek nikdy nespí’ (The brain never sleeps), will enlighten the mysteries of the human brain activity during sleep. How the human brain changes after birth is another interesting topic. Our brain is shaped by its environment, experiences and stimuli as we grow. ‘Deskové hry ve výuce’ (Board Games in Teaching) will focus on how specific games support brain development, and will include practical demonstrations. After a theoretical introduction, visitors will have an opportunity to practice these games first-hand. All are welcome.

Weekend workshops

The lectures will be followed by interactive workshops. One will focus on occupational therapy as rehabilitation after brain injury; another on memory, and how to practice in order to improve our memory, so that we could memorize, for example, 100 foreign words in one hour. A workshop on getting over animal phobias will attract high interest; ‘Fobie a jak se jí zbavit’ promises to free us from the fear of spiders and serpents. It claims that at the end of the workshop, participants will pet a giant spider with enthusiasm. Visitors can also look forward to the ‘The Cave’ – an open electronic workshop. It focuses on the possibilities of virtual reality. Some screenings of relevant movies will also take place, as well as a virtual reality exhibition.

More information in Czech on www.tydenmozku.cz

Play with iQLANDIA

Throughout the week, there will be a number of interactive exhibits, mainly games, from the iQLANDIA Liberec science centre in the corridors of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague. Visitors of all ages will have the opportunity to try out these brain games.

 

INFORMATION ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

 

11/03/2019 – 17/03/2019, daily from 10AM to 6PM

 

Venue: Budova Akademie věd ČR (Czech Academy of Sciences)

Národní 1009/3, Praha 1

 

All events are free of charge.

Lectures require free registration on www.tydenmozku.cz