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Michael Burman, Ph.D., University of New England associate professor and Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences K-12 outreach coordinator, discussed 51����’s efforts to engage children and teens in the sciences on a recent episode of the radio show “Maine Calling” on Maine Public.

“One of our major areas of focus at the University of New England is making Maine and really the whole world healthier,” Burman said. “What I like to think about is right now, that person who is going to solve Alzheimer’s or find a better treatment for addiction, exists in the schools, and we just need to spark their interest. We need to convince them that this is an important problem to solve.”

Burman was asked how he helps children overcome the fears of science, especially when it doesn’t come easily to them. He talked about the hands on activities 51���� uses to make science fun. He said many of those activities would be available to children, teens and families at the 3^rd annual 51���� Brain Fair on April 7, 2017. The event will take place at the Harold Alfond Forum.

“The kids, when they can get hands on and work in small groups with our medical students or our neuroscience students, I think they find it more fascinating than hard.”  

To learn more about the University of New England’s Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences, visit

To apply, visit