Saturday, March 18, 2023

3.4 million concussions occur each year in sports and recreation-related activities, but in Canada, 50% of people know little or nothing about concussions. In this session, we used play dough and eggs to model the head and brain and test our own “head” protection designs. 

Materials: 3 eggs or 3 really ripe plums (or you can create a substitute egg using a plastic mould and modelling clay); – 3 large ziplock or other sealable, clear bags; – markers to draw on the egg; – 4-6 sheets of soft, flexible material (e.g. paper towel, Kleenex, toilet paper, scrap fabric, saran wrap); – firm and/or moldable material enough to cover one egg (e.g. part of an egg carton, play-dough, plastic Tupperware, packing peanuts…you can get pretty creative here); – tape and scissors. Optional: measuring tape.

Expert: Taylor Snowden-Richardson is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Victoria. She is currently studying the role of mild traumatic brain injuries as a risk factor for dementia, including early detection and prevention.