Community Outreach

The Department of Psychology and Neuroscience hosts multiple events involving the community. See below for more information.

Brain Awareness Week: "I Lobe the Brain"

Each year, students and faculty members from the department help organize "I Lobe the Brain" at the Alvin Sherman Library. This event for children features hands-on activities including brain games, seeing and holding sheep brains, and building candy neurons.

Brain Bee

Each year, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) hosts an annual Brain Bee and neuroscience poster competition for local high school students, giving students the opportunity to visit campus, explore neuroscience firsthand, and connect with NSU faculty members and students. The event combines a neuroscience knowledge competition with interactive laboratory activities, research demonstrations, and a poster competition highlighting high school student projects. It is designed to make neuroscience approachable and engaging while introducing students to the many ways the brain can be studied.

For NSU undergraduate students, the Brain Bee is also a great way to become involved beyond the classroom. Neuroscience and psychology majors can volunteer and earn service hours while helping with different aspects of the event. Students may assist with planning, help develop Brain Bee questions, organize competition activities, work with high school students during hands-on laboratory demonstrations, help run the competition on event day, or serve as general event volunteers.

Undergraduate researchers can also present posters and talk with visiting students about the research they are conducting at NSU, providing experience communicating science to a broader audience.

For questions, contact Lisa Robison, Ph.D. 

Brain Sciences Academy Program

Nova Southeastern University's Department of Psychology and Neuroscience hosts a weeklong interactive event for 11 and 12-grade students. Led by NSU psychology and neuroscience professors, the Summer Brain Sciences Academy is held on the Fort Lauderdale Campus. Learn more here.

Neuroscience Summer Training Program
The department hosts a two-week, discovery-based training program for high school students. Students work hands-on with faculty members and conduct research for their projects, culminating in a presentation at the end of the program. For more information, click here.

TEDxNSU

TEDxNSU is an annual event, featuring engaging lectures, videos, visual art, and interactive experiences at NSU under the direction of associate professors Leanne Boucher and W. Matthew Collins. TEDxNSU showcases ideas worth spreading from members of our diverse university community.

Thought-provoking events like TEDxNSU support the college's aim to encourage intellectual exploration and the sharing of ideas amongst students, faculty and staff members, and the local community. TEDxNSU expands this reach to a global audience with videos of the lectures available on YouTube.

Wellness Program

The Life Skills and Wellness Collaboration within the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience began in January of 2022. This collaboration provides evidence-based resources and information to a portion of the population who, according to recent surveys, have demonstrated an increase in emotional and stress-related difficulties. This program delivers in-class wellness presentations to local high school students related to various topics including managing stress, cyberbullying, anxiety, and time-management.

These wellness lessons are presented to  200+ high school students per week during the school year. This program is also active on campus at NSU, providing resilience presentations to hundreds of undergraduate students per semester and hosting multiple wellness events each academic year.