ASCEND Program

ASCEND is a community engagement group at FAU that promotes interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) through neuroscience activities. We hold day-long sessions called Brain Sparks to get middle school kids (Grades 6-8) interested in neuroscience. We do neuroscience-related projects and teach the kids about brain anatomy, brain safety, and electrical activity in the brain, how your muscles work via electricity/neurons, and what kinds of tools scientists use to study neurons in worms (and why that is important). These are all taught by real neuroscientists at FAU and Scripps Research Institute.

We also host a bi-weekly after-school program called NeuroExplorers during each semester of the school year. Here, they will learn more in-depth about neuroscience directly from FAU neuroscientists while doing hands-on experiments at STEM Studios in Downtown Abacoa (Jupiter, FL). They will listen to podcasts and attend webinars between sessions as a recap of what happened at the previous session. The first and second semesters are duplicates of each other, so there is no need to repeat sessions.

Follow our Facebook page at Ascend Program, ascend.program (Instagram), and @ascendprogram on TikTok for more information, upcoming events, and more. We also have a short (25-30min episode) podcast called "Brain Bites" that anyone can access at http://ascend.libsyn.com/, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite podcast app.