Seventh graders will be active at UTM on Thursday, March 23, as they explore some of the fascinations of the brain.

The Psychology Department Brain Awareness Day will be from 8 a.m. to noon at the Skyhawk Fieldhouse. It is here that the estimated 160 seventh graders will enter a learning fair filled with several activities that will both educate and intrigue students with knowledge of the brain.

The UTM Psychology Department became a partner with the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives four years ago to help promote Brain Awareness Week.

The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives is a non-profit organization that tries to educate the public about the brain itself, as well as brain research. This program is funded by a grant from the Charles A. Dana Foundation.

Each year, these students are able to participate in interesting learning activities. This year, some of the activities will include making helmets for eggs, examining sheep brains, learning about perception with distortion goggles and testing and learning about taste, smell and memory abilities. Students will also learn helpful hints they can take to insure the safety of their own brain and spinal cord by Rehab Specialist Laura Mills of the West Tennessee Rehabilitation Center.

Several UTM faculty members and students will be helping out in the efforts to promote brain awareness. There are currently 60-70 UTM students signed up to help with the day's activities. Associate Professor of Psychology Michelle Merwin also said that some psychology majors would even be running some of the exhibits.

"We couldn't do this without the UTM students," said Merwin.

Other local efforts have been made by HealthSouth Cane Creek Rehabilitation Hospital of Martin, West Tennessee Rehabilitation Center of Jackson, the UTM Department of Public Safety and the UTM Biology Department to help promote Brain Awareness Week.