ICS Inter-Community School Library: Sciences: Brain and Five Senses

Keywords

BRAIN: brain, spinal cord, nerve(s), nervous system, synapse

SENSES	SENSES
Eye(s): eyesight, sight, seeing, vision, visual perception, optical, image, light, colour	Ear(s): hear, hearing, auditory, audition, sound, vibration
Tongue: taste, gustation, flavour, sweet, bitter, salt, sweet, umami	Nose: smell, olfaction, scent
Skin: touch, feel, tactile

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Websites about the Brain

Anatomy of the Brain
The brains, different parts and their functions.
Brain Connection
An excellent site that is maintained by experts. Look at the section on Brain Basics - especially "Your Amazing Brain" and "Central Nervous System Overview".
Neuroscience for Kids
This site is maintained by an expert and is worth exploring in detail for diagrams, facts, etc.
How Much Energy Does the Brain Use?
From www.brainfacts.org
Brain Diagram
Different parts of a brain illustrated in a diagram.

Websites about the Senses

Sight

Diagram of the Eye
From Neuroscience for Kids website...
Anatomy of the Eye
This site has clear diagrams. Check the facts in other sources as well.
The optic nerve and its visual link to the brain
A trustworthy site, maintained by experts with clear diagrams.
The Visual Pathway
From Neuroscience for Kids website...

Hearing

Human Ear: Structure and Function
A good summary of ear facts and clear diagrams...
Hearing disorders (also explains how we hear)
This article is from Brain Connection.
How the ear works
Good diagram and video. Reputable website

Taste

Human tongue, parts and fucntions
Good diagrams. from OrgansOftheBody.com.
From tongue to brainstem
A good description of how we smell and taste. Who wrote this, do we know the sources of the information?
A Question of Taste
Good description of how we taste and smell and research that is helping us understand these senses better. From Brain Connection
We taste with the brain, not the tongue
Interesting new research findings from Columbia University.

Touch

How do we sense touch?
Understanding touch. Reliable site from Arizona State University.
Touch and pain
From BrainFacts.org

Smell

Diagram of the Nose
Basic facts and a good diagram. from DK, a well-known publisher of non-fiction

Videos about the Senses

Databases

BrainPOP This link opens in a new window
Search for these articles:
brain, nervous system, spinal cord, eyes, hearing, test, smell, touch, vision problems and balance
Username: icsbrain
Password: icsbrain
Britannica School Encyclopedia This link opens in a new window
General information. Good for finding out about a topic when you begin research. Includes up-to-date information sources and allows you to move easily to material of higher or lower reading levels as needed.
User ID: icszlibrary
Password: icszlibrary
World Book Encyclopedia This link opens in a new window
General Information. Use this source to find out about your topic when you begin research. You can choose Kids, Student or Advanced levels for all topics.
User Name: wbicsz
Password: wbicsz

Google Sign-on does not work for WorldBook

Books in the ICS library about the Brain and Senses

There are many books about the brain, optical illusions and other topics relevant to this project, on display in the in the Secondary library - come and have a look!

500 Optical Illusions by Keith Kay; Diagram Group Staff
Call Number: 978-1-45491139-5
ISBN: 9781454911395
Publication Date: 2014-09-02
A collection of five hundred optical illusions from hidden objects to astonishing mazes.
The Brain by Seymour Simon
Call Number: YA 612.82 SIM
ISBN: 9780060877194
Publication Date: 2006-05-23
Describes the various parts of the brain and the nervous system and how they function to enable us to think, feel, move, and remember.

Teachers' Resources for Brain and Senses

Optical Illusions: When your brain can't believe your eyes
Look at an optical illusion and you may think you're seeing things -- such as a curved line that's actually straight, or a moving object that's standing still. You wonder if your eyes are playing tricks on you.
The Blind Spot
One of the most dramatic experiments to perform is the demonstration of the blind spot. The blind spot is the area on the retina without receptors that respond to light. Therefore an image that falls on this region will NOT be seen. It is in this region that the optic nerve exits the eye on its way to the brain.
Get the point
Students create a tool with 2 points (eraser and 2 pins with plastic heads, for example) and work in pairs to test the sensitivity of the skin on their arms, fingers, and hands.
Heads or Tails?
Students try to determine "heads or tails" on a coin by touch.
Tell me about it...
Two partners face each other; one builds a structure that the other cannot see. The builder describes the structure and the partner tries to build the same structure following only verbal instructions.
This is cool!
A student tests heat/cold sensitivity by dipping a finger into containers of cold and warm water.
Benham's Disk
In 1894, toymaker Mr. C.E. Benham discovered that a spinning disk with a particular pattern of black and white marks could cause people to see colors. Mr. Benham called his disk an "Artificial Spectrum Top" and sold it through Messrs. Newton and Co. Benham's Top (or Benham's Disk) has puzzled scientists for over 100 years.

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