# Interactive Family Learning in Support of Early Brain Development

> **NIH NIH R25** · OREGON MUSEUM OF SCIENCES AND INDUSTRY · 2020 · $238,591

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), in collaboration with neuroscientists at the Oregon Health &
Science University (OHSU), museum professionals, and community partners, proposes to create a 1,000-square-foot
traveling exhibition, accompanying website, and complementary programming to promote public understanding of
neuroscience research and its relevance to healthy brain development in early childhood. The exhibition and
programs will focus on current research on the developing brain, up to age 5, and will reach a national audience of
adult caregivers of young children and their families, with a special emphasis on Latino families. The project will be
developed biculturally and bilingually (English/Spanish) in order to better engage underrepresented Latino audiences.
The exhibition and programs will be designed and tested with family audiences.
The exhibition project, Wired to Play: Family Learning in Support of Early Brain Development, has four goals that
primarily target adult caregivers of children up to age 5:
 • Foster engagement with and interest in neurodevelopment during early childhood
 • Enhance awareness of how neuroscience research leads to knowledge about healthy development in early
childhood
 • Inform and empower adult caregivers to enrich their children’s early learning experiences
 • Reach diverse family audiences, especially Latino caregivers and their families
A collaborative, multidisciplinary team of neuroscience researchers, experts in early childhood education, museum
educators, and OMSI personnel with expertise in informal science education and bilingual exhibit development will
work together to ensure that current science is accurately interpreted and effectively presented to reach the target
audiences. The project will foster better public understanding of early brain development and awareness and
confidence in caregivers in using play to enrich their children’s experiences and support healthy brain development.
Visitors will explore neuroscience and early childhood development through a variety of forms—multisensory hands-
on interactive exhibits, graphic panels, real objects, facilitated experiences, and an accompanying website. Following
the five-year development process, the exhibition will begin an eight-year national tour, during which it will reach
more than one million people.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10016342
- **Project number:** 5R25GM129231-04
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON MUSEUM OF SCIENCES AND INDUSTRY
- **Principal Investigator:** VICTORIA JEAN COATS
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $238,591
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-07 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10016342

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10016342, Interactive Family Learning in Support of Early Brain Development (5R25GM129231-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10016342. Licensed CC0.

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