Summer Scholars Stretch their Minds at the Franklin Institute

On August 6, the Summer Scholars program took their student-athletes on a trip to the Franklin Institute, with the newly opened “Your Brain” attraction as our focus. Tying in the Mindfulness lessons of consciously thinking in the present in order to be more at one with yourself and the rest of the world, a visit through the interesting exhibit helped turn a Psychology lesson into a fun afternoon. The students learned about the millions of connections throughout the brain. Finding out how rehearsal helps to strengthen neural pathways gave more meaning to practicing things over and over, both on and off the mat, and realizing how we react helped to shed some light on the different ways to deal with adversity in our daily lives. One of the rooms in the exhibit even gave kids the chance to climb through netted pathways that simulated how neural pathways worked! The mind wasn't the only concern during the trip. Our chaperones took the students throughout the whole Institute for a day of educational fun. From learning some shocking facts in the Electricity Department to imagining themselves in the Sports Challenge's Legends gallery, there wasn't a single moment of boredom. Check out the pictures below to see how the day went.