Education Neuroscience | Radial Design GmbH

Case Study
Education Neuroscience

Schoolchildren in grades 3 and 4 are putting themselves in the shoes of brain researchers and finding the answers to questions about the brain by carrying out their own experiments. Thereby they learn how the brain works and how it is structured. What is particularly special about this teaching unit is “Herr Tie” - a robot that we have developed that can see, hear, touch and move around the room. The children can have a look inside the robot’s brain and can switch the relevant brain regions on and off. As a result, the robot changes its behaviour and, by trying it out and experiencing it, the schoolchildren are able to grasp the abstract topic of the “brain” and experience it as something that is tangible.

We are brain explorers! / Hertie Stiftung

The Challenge

For children of primary-school age, the brain is an abstract and difficult concept to understand as it cannot be seen from the outside. So, how can we teach children about the brain's key functions and how it transports complex neuroscientific content? This is a topic that we addressed together with the non-profit Hertie Foundation.

The Outcome

The result is Herr Tie. It’s a small training robot to capture the interest of primary-school children with its friendly appearance and encourages them to grapple with scientific issues. Through exploratory research, Herr Tie playfully and almost incidentally and in passing teaches everything there is to know about the human brain along with its most important functions.