Saturday, March 14, 2026 | 11:00 am - 3:14 pm
There’s no stopping brainy fun on Pi Day!
Don’t be irrational and join us for Brain Awareness Day with a Pi Day twist! Let’s get rolling into the world of neuroscience with hands-on activities, engaging demonstrations, and expert dissections. On this day, you can have your Pi and eat it too!
Pi (3.14159...) is the fundamental ratio of any circle’s circumference to its diameter. An irrational, transcendental constant, it defines the geometry of our curved universe.
The Philadelphia Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience (pcSFN) is proud to host Brain Awareness Day at The Franklin Institute in partnership with Temple University's Psychology and Neuroscience Program and Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. Faculty and students will help guide attendees through engaging neuroscience activities, including holding real, preserved animal brains.
Brain Awareness Week (March 16-22) is a global campaign celebrated annually in March to promote brain science, made possible through generous funding from the International Brain Research Organization.
Programming Round-Up:
- Pi in the Sky Tonight Show: Journey a(round) the universe and uncover the mysteries of curves and spheres in space. This interactive show explains the math and physics behind planets, orbits and other celestial bodies.
- Pi Reciting Challenge: Transcend our science performers! Find a roving performer who will hand out stickers for you to proudly display your Pi knowledge.
- Brain Awareness Stations: 15 hands-on science stations around the museum offering additional programming around Brain Awareness. Highlights include:
- Use Play-Doh to learn about the main cells of the neurons, and model your own neurons.
- See real human brains and the brain of many species such as snakes and dolphins to learn more about how brains differ based on function. Hosted by Mr. Brain Dude.
- Learn all about the importance of art in studying neuroscience by doing a scavenger hunt and drawing your own brain-inspired creations.
- Model the importance of your skull (and wearing helmets) by dropping a plastic egg filled with candy and then trying to create your own "skulls" to protect the egg.
- Visualize DNA by using candy to make your own DNA strands.
More programming to be announced.
