My busy brain
Where your brain is, what it does, and how messages travel in from your senses and out to your muscles. With a catch-the-ruler game.
Read
Your brain is inside your head. It is kept safe in a hard, bony shell: your skull.[1]
Your brain helps you think, remember, plan and imagine.[1]
Your brain is joined to your spinal cord, and nerves go out to all the other parts of your body.[2]
Messages travel in to the brain from your senses, like your eyes and ears. Messages travel out from the brain to your muscles, so you can move.[2][8]
Different parts of the brain have different jobs. One part works out what your eyes see; another part works out what your ears hear.[1]
Some jobs happen without you thinking: your brain keeps you breathing and keeps your heart beating, even when you sleep.[1]
Try it: Catch the ruler!
You need
- A 30 cm ruler for each pair
- A sticker or a pen mark at the bottom end
- A pencil and the results table
Safety
Use a plastic or wooden ruler and drop it only a short way, straight down. Keep faces away from the ruler. Catch with fingers only, never by grabbing at someone.
What to do
- Work in pairs. One person holds the ruler at the top so it hangs down. The 0 end is at the bottom.
- The catcher holds a thumb and finger open at the bottom of the ruler, not touching it.
- The holder lets go without warning. The catcher catches it as fast as they can!
- Look at the number just above the catcher's fingers. Write it down.
- Try three times. Is your number getting smaller? A small number means you were quick!
Play: Message in or message out?
Read each card. Is it a message going IN to the brain from a sense, or a message going OUT from the brain to the muscles?
Your best score is kept only on this device. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Quiz
Other ages: Ages 10–11 · Ages 15–16