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Worcester, MA, May 24, 2025 – The EcoTarium Museum of Science and Nature today announced the opening of its latest exhibit, Brain: The World Inside Your Head. This immersive experience invites visitors to explore the complexities of the human brain through interactive displays, 3D models, and cutting-edge technology.

The 3,000-square-foot, traveling exhibit Brain: The World Inside Your Head will be open at the EcoTarium from May 24, 2025, to September 7, 2025. Brain: The World Inside Your Head was produced by Evergreen Exhibitions in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health and with support from the National Title Corporate Sponsor, Pfizer, Inc. It began its run at the Smithsonian and has been touring select cities in North America.

Using innovative special effects, interactive learning activities, video games, optical illusions, and interactive displays, BRAIN shows how the brain functions and how, like other parts of the body, it can sometimes malfunction. This fascinating limited-engagement exhibit for all ages provides a hands‑on and up‑close look at the human body’s most essential and fascinating organ by exploring its development, geography, and function. In the process, the exhibition makes brain-related disorders easier to understand.

 “At the EcoTarium, we believe that immersive, interactive learning sparks curiosity, wonder, and understanding,” said Katie Chappell, Director of Education & Exhibits at the EcoTarium. “BRAIN is more than an exhibit—it’s an invitation to explore the incredible science of how our brains grow, adapt, and connect us to the world and each other.”

Upon entry into the exhibit, visitors walk through a shimmering arch of flashing lights that illuminates networks of neurons firing and communicating. From this dynamic beginning, BRAIN invites guests deeper into the brain to discover its basic workings. Trace this brain’s development from infancy through old age, learn the evolution of scientists’ understanding of the brain’s physiology, and study the re-created skull of Phineas Gage — a man who survived after his brain was pierced by a metal rod. 

Visitors will discover the reality of brain disorders, injuries, and irregularities, and learn more about conditions such as Alzheimer’s, depression, and addiction as they explore the relationship between depression and creativity, how drugs work in the brain, and the nature of pain. There is a glimpse of the future of brain treatments in the new era of genome mapping and molecular medicine.

The 3,000-square-foot, traveling exhibit Brain: The World Inside Your Head will be open at the EcoTarium from May 24, 2025, to September 7, 2025. 

To learn more about this exhibit, visit ecotarium.org/exhibit/brain. 

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About The EcoTarium

Celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2025, the EcoTarium is New England’s leading museum of science and nature, an indoor-outdoor experience dedicated to inspiring a passion for science and nature in visitors of all ages. Founded in 1825 as one of the oldest natural history museums in the country, the EcoTarium has been a leader in informal science and nature education for 200 years. Highlights of the 45-acre Worcester campus include the science center with three floors of interactive exhibits, Alden Planetarium, Science Discovery programs, extensive outdoor nature trails, wildlife zoo and habitats, the seasonal railroad Explorer Express Train, and an extensive outdoor play exhibit, Nature Explore®. The EcoTarium is located at 222 Harrington Way, Worcester, MA 01604. Parking is FREE, and Museum admission tickets may be purchased online. The EcoTarium is open Tuesday-Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm. For more information, visit ecotarium.org.

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