Brain Fair: From Childhood Memories to Memories Made
Do you have a vivid memory from your childhood that made a big impact on you later in life? That’s what attending the Northwestern University Brain Awareness (NUBAO) Brain Fair in Chicago as a child did for GiGi Helling ’26.
“Sometimes my mom will say, ‘Do you remember when we used to picnic on the beach?’ And I'm like, ‘No,’” Helling said. “And I feel really bad, but I remember some specific stations from the fair, which is kind of how I know that it had such a big impact on me.”
Helling’s fascination with brain science and psychology grew from there. When she moved to Texas and began attending FWCD in Middle School, she found her passion: Her mind always returned to that Brain Fair experience. She realized she was interested in psychology and learning about the brain, how people make decisions, and why people do the things that they do.
With those thoughts always in her mind, Helling really started thinking about creating and hosting her own Brain Fair during her freshman year. “I was talking with my mom about how I want to do something that involves the brain, just anything," she stated. “And that's when we came up with the idea of doing a similar Brain Fair.”
When she ran for Student Council, she got the idea to draft a proposal for a hands-on event that would engage younger students in learning about the brain through interactive stations. She pictured it happening in FWCD’s gym, with some of the stations being her original ideas and others similar to what she experienced as a child at Northwestern.
Her idea gained momentum during her sophomore year when she pitched the idea to Head of School Eric Lombardi. Once she was given the green light, her ideas were starting to become a reality.
This year, Helling worked on making the Brain Fair a reality. She sat down with Head of Lower School Trey Blair in the fall to further discuss the idea since it would involve Lower School students attending the fair. From there, everything fell into place.
With Lombardi’s and Blair’s support, she began to refine her vision, reaching out to the organizers of the Northwestern Brain Fair. Within days, she received a response with a detailed list of station ideas, materials and guidelines for students.
Ultimately, she determined FWCD’s Brain Fair would consist of 17 stations for students to rotate through, each covering different aspects of the brain. Once that planning was complete, it was time to start working on the budget, which came with some lessons.
“It was really important to me that I didn't just rely on the things that the School already had,” Helling said. “I knew that I would need markers for a coloring station, but I didn't want to say, 'Oh, I'll just get those from the Art Department,' because I really wanted this to be my own event.”
After figuring out what she needed to purchase and what she could use from certain teachers, she went to Blair for approval and received some money from the Lower School, and the rest came from Upper School and Peggy Wakeland.
March 10 was the magical day. Hosted in the Square Gym, the event welcomed first through fourth graders, who rotated through interactive stations led primarily by Upper School students. Special guest station leaders included Dr. Eric Gonzales, Burnett School of Medicine at TCU Associate Professor.
Students explored concepts from miracle berries that changed the way lemon juice tasted to the different functions of brain regions, like being able to read a paragraph of scrambled words. By the end of the two-hour event, the students did not want to leave, excited to continue their exploration of neuroscience.
“The Brain Fair exceeded my expectations,” said Blair. “I was excited for the opportunity to have our Upper School students lead activities for our Lower School students -- that interaction alone is one of the many reasons that makes FWCD so special. But I have to admit, I never thought it would capture their attention so fully. Our students were engaged and enamored with every station. Our teachers were raving about the experience, and I can say I am already looking forward to next year! Congrats to Gigi Helling for organizing such a wonderful event for our student community.”
Looking ahead, Helling hopes to expand Brain Fair by involving Brain Buddies, a club dedicated to neuroscience education, to help run the stations. She would also like to take the event beyond FWCD, offering it to the Como Community Center and Rivertree Academy.
After years of planning, Helling’s vision and memories came to life in this successful event, and the 2026 Brain Fair looks to be even bigger and better.
