1) Here, the Children Will Learn About Visual Plasticity by Using Prism Glasses

Prism Goggles

Instructions for presenters

Objective: To explore how our brains adapt to our environment and the information we receive from our senses.

Materials: Prism goggles, bean bags, tape, and material for a target (such as a sheet of paper).

Directions: At this station, children will learn about how the brain learns to change the body's behavior (where to throw the bean bag) by trial and error based on visual information.

1) Here, the children will learn about visual plasticity by using prism glasses.

Plasticity means flexibility, or the ability to change. Visual plasticity means that our brains can change our behavior when our visual information - the way that we see what is around us - changes suddenly. Prisms bend light. These goggles shift what we see to the left.

2) Ask for a volunteer.

Tape the target to a door or blackboard so there is at least 15 feet of clearance in front the target. Have child stand ~5 paces away from the target. Let the child practice throwing the bean bags to hit the target. Adjust distance from the target according to their accuracy (they may need to move closer, but have them stand as far away as possible and still be reasonably accurate).

**The goggles will work over glasses.

3) Put the goggles on.

The thick side of the prism should be facing out from the child's face.

4) Try hitting the target with the bean bags.

Have the child practice slowly, the child's throw should be off to the left of the target at first. Encourage him/her to improve his/her accuracy. Collect the thrown bean bags and have him/her continue to throw until fairly accurate.

5) Remove the goggles and have the child throw the bean bags at the target again.

Everything still looks a little weird and the throw may be off at first. These are the "aftereffects." Now the brain must adapt back to normal visual information, but adjusting back to normal vision takes less time than adjusting to the goggles.

**If another child would like a turn, wipe off the goggles before handing them over.

6) Not all animals can do this!

There have been experiments with newts (a kind of amphibian - like a frog) where their eyes were surgically turned upside-down. Even after months of living like this, if a piece of food was held above them, their brains would see it as being below them, and they would swim downwards and look for the food.

Humans and monkeys, on the other hand, can adjust. There is a special kind of prism glasses that project everything on your right side to your left visual field, and vice versa. It is very difficult to get around at first, but after a month of wearing goggles like this, both humans and monkeys can do everything they can normally do.