Congratulations to EP members Kate Nation and Gaia Scerif for their contributions to the beautiful, informative and engaging Brain Diaries Exhibit, which was runner-up in the OxTALENT Public Engagement category.
The Brain Diaries exhibition in the Museum of Natural History was produced by a collaboration between the Museum, the Department of Experimental Psychology, the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience and the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics. It takes visitors through a journey from conception to cradle to grave, illustrating the extraordinary changes that take place in the brain over the course of a human life. The team used digital technologies to engage visitors with the research that takes place on the inner workings of the human brain, which are largely invisible, microscopic or conceptual.
In addition to the in-gallery digital content, the team have created a fully mobile-responsive website, Brain Diaries, which gives those who cannot visit the Museum virtual access to most of the artefacts, thereby extending the reach of the exhibition to a global audience.
The judges particularly commended the team’s thought-through approach to using digital technologies to engage the public with the research being profiled, and to how they might enable a much broader reach through the new format website. It is hoped that the site will provide a model for the future for other, similar, initiatives in the University.