about us

The London Chapter is run by Director Dr. Wai Ng.

what we do

The London Chapter's primary focus is on delivering Annual Brain Day presentations to elementary students. Our chapter partners with volunteers from University of Western Ontario to offer this innovative and interactive program

ThinkFirst Brain Day 2010

ThinkFirst Brain Day is a neuroscience-based educational program developed with leading neuroscientists at the University of Toronto and designed for grades 4-6. ThinkFirst Brain Day has been presented in elementary school classrooms by energetic ThinkFirst Canada volunteers since 2005. Through interactive learning activities, fun experiments, and colourful diagrams, students learn about the location, structure and functions of their brain, nervous system, and five senses. As the students explore how the lobes, synapses, and senses work together in their everyday lives and experiences, they also learn about the importance of injury prevention and identify strategies to protect their brain and body. ThinkFirst Brain Day therefore meets curriculum requirements for injury prevention (in Health and Physical Education) and Science and Technology.

ThinkFirst Brain Day presentations consist of 5 learning modules and last for 2-2.5 hours, with recess and break scheduled in. The program has been well evaluated for learning outcomes, has been approved by your school board, and has been enthusiastically endorsed by the teachers who have had a ThinkFirst Brain Day in the past.

ThinkFirst Brain Day in London is organized by the Schulick School of Medicine's Neuroscience Community Outreach Group, and volunteers are recruited from numerous programs of study at UWO - medicine, medical science, psychology and education to name a few. The trained Brain Day presenters are engaging, informative and passionate about the subject and about kids.

ThinkFirst Brain Day presentations are offered from March 8th - March 12th, 2010 during Brain Awareness Month. you will have received an email with deetails regarding how to request a presentaion in your classroom - please send an email to neuro.outreach@gmail.com with the required information listed in the email. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions!

London ThinkFirst Brain Day Coordinators

From left to right: Adam MacLellan, 2nd year medical student, John McCuaig, 1st year medical student, Michael Staudt, 1st year medical student, and Paul Freund, 2nd year medical student.

How to sign up: Please send an email to neuro.outreach@gmail.com with the following information:

1. Your Name
2. Your School's name, schoolboard (TVDSB, LDCSB), and address
3. Your classroom's grade (split classes allowed)
4. Number of students in your classroom.
5. Preferred presentation day of the week, and AM or PM preference.
6. A telephone number you can be reached at (school number usually).
7. Email address.
8. Any special information about your class (e.g. children with a disibility, any allergies) so that we can modify the presentation accordingly.
9. Whether your school is on a normal schedule or balanced schedule. Due to schedules of our volunteers, if your school has a balanced schedule it will have to be changed to accommmodate the presentation for that day (e.g. a break for recess is allowed during the presentation, but no longer than 20 minutes please).

Due to the high demand, to ensure you receive a spot please respond promptly with all the required information. We look forward to presenting at your school!

success stories

In 2009 we did 56 Brain Day presentations in the London area, reaching more than 1400 students!

fundraising initiatives

Help us spread the ThinkFirst message! Donations can be made to ThinkFirst London by sending a cheque directly to the office of Dr. Wai Ng or by clicking here, be sure to note in the instructions that funds are to be directed to the London chapter. Alternatively, you can send a cheque care of the National Office at Suite 314-750 Dundas St. W, Toronto, ON, M6J 3S3. Please note on your cheque that the donation should be directed to the London Chapter.

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0 helmets given away this year!

55

55 classrooms presented to!