TAMIU Service-Learning Center Presents ‘Brainfest: A Celebration of the Brain’ April 7

Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) Service-Learning Center will present its first installment of an annual festival aimed at teaching children about the brain and its functions.           

The “Brainfest: A Celebration of the Brain” is Thursday, April 7 from 4 - 7 p.m. at the three Boys and Girls Clubs of Laredo sites located at 500 Moctezuma Street, 3900 Los Presidentes Avenue and 4500 Old Santa Maria Road. The event has been specifically planed for Boys and Girls Club members.         

The Brainfest is part of four service-learning “Learning in a Global Context II”  courses taught by TAMIU University College instructor Patricia Cantú based on the book, entitled, “Healthy Brain, Happy Life: A Personal Program To Activate Your Brain and Do Everything Better,” by Wendy Suzuki, Ph.D. and Billie Fitzpatrick.          

The Brainfest was designed in conjunction with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Laredo. At the festival, students in the course will present booths with activities for Boys and Girls Club children that highlight the importance of enriching one’s brain at a young age.         

One of the activities includes a face painting station where students will explain to participants, as they paint a dendrite on their face, that brain cells can grow with proper enrichment.         

Cantú said that the “Learning in a Global Context II” course aims to serve the Laredo youth with knowledge about the brain and its functions.

“Research has demonstrated that teaching children at a young age about the malleability of the brain has a positive impact on learning,” Cantu said, “The Brainfest will empower our TAMIU students by making what they learned in the classroom about neuroplasticity relevant.”           

Likewise, the festival will help strengthen Boys and Girls Club children by giving them an opportunity to experience ways in which they can stimulate and enhance their brains through healthy activities.         

“We hope everyone walks away from the festival knowing that intelligence is not fixed, but rather that they can make choices to help grow their brains,” Cantú said.          

For more information about TAMIU service-learning classes and activities, please contact Dr. Marcela Uribe, Service-Learning program director, at 956.326.3133, email  marcela.uribe@tamiu.edu or visit the Service-Learning Center, located in the Senator Judith Zaffirini Student Success Center, room 223C.

University information is also available online at tamiu.edu and on its social media sites on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.