Students investigate brain anatomy and function as a way to study how perception, memory, emotion, and identity shape human experience. Through observation, research, experimentation, and dialogue with a neuroscientist from UCSD, they connect biology content to personal and cultural meaning-making. Working collaboratively, they create a small watercolor or ink artwork that translates scientific understanding of the brain into a visual expression of self. The experience builds critical thinking, communication, and reflection by asking students to interpret complex content and share it with empathy and clarity.

Students will investigate major brain structures and functions, using observation, research, and conversation with a UCSD neuroscientist to connect anatomy to memory, emotion, perception, and identity. They will develop and refine watercolor or ink techniques to translate scientific understanding and personal experience into a meaningful visual artwork. Students will collaborate to critique ideas, solve design problems, and communicate their thinking through artist statements and presentations that show empathy, self-awareness, and accurate biological content. They will synthesize scientific knowledge with personal, cultural, and social experiences to create art that demonstrates creativity, reflection, and deeper understanding of how the brain shapes who they are.

Students will create a series of inquiry artifacts during the project, including observational brain sketches, annotated anatomy studies, identity reflection notes, and experimental color or ink studies inspired by brain structure and function. In collaborative teams, they will also produce research-to-art planning boards that synthesize insights from a UCSD neuroscientist visit with biology content and personal meaning-making. The final product will be a small finished watercolor or ink artwork that connects a specific part or process of the brain to an aspect of identity, experience, or emotion. Students will share their work in a brief exhibit or artist talk with peer feedback and a written artist statement that explains their research, artistic choices, and interpretation.

Begin with a live or virtual provocation from a UCSD neuroscientist who shares striking brain images and a short case study about how injury, memory, or perception can shape identity, then invites students to ask “What makes me who I am?” Students rotate through quick observation stations with brain models, anatomical drawings, and artworks that represent emotion, memory, or self, recording noticings and questions in sketchbooks. In pairs, they create a rapid ink or watercolor response that connects one part of the brain to an aspect of their own identity, then share their thinking in a brief gallery walk. Close by introducing the challenge: create a small original artwork that uses biology and anatomy research to communicate a meaningful idea about the brain and self.

Host a gallery-style “Brain and Identity” exhibition where students display their watercolor or ink pieces alongside short artist-scientist statements explaining the brain anatomy they represented and the personal meaning behind their choices. Invite the UCSD neuroscientist, families, peers, and school staff to attend, ask questions, and give feedback during a student-led walkthrough. Include a brief opening talk or panel in which small groups share how observation, research, and experimentation shaped their artwork and understanding of biology. Create a digital gallery or slideshow of the pieces and reflections so the work can also be shared with the wider school community after the event.