Palms West Monthly - April 2019

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Palms West Monthly • April 2019 • Page 1

Palms West

Monthly

WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • WEST PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE GROVES • THE ACREAGE Volume 9, Number 4

PalmsWestMonthly.com

Your Guide to Summer Camps!

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FREE • April 2019

South Florida Science Center

Diving deep into the human brain After three years in development, the $2.5 million “Journey Through the Human Brain” exhibit opens at South Florida Science Center.

PB Dramaworks stages August Wilson’s ‘Fences’

EXHIBIT INFO: WHAT: “Journey Through the

Human Brain” is The South Florida Science Center and Aquarium’s new permanent exhibit, billed as the most advanced exhibit on the human brain at any museum in the world.

HIGHLIGHTS: The Senses Gallery,

designed for youngsters; Reaction Time, an interactive exhibit that explains the concept of reaction and allows visitors to measure their own reaction time; Lie To Me, which shows how brains works harder to lie, and lets visitors see if they are able to detect when a lie is being told.

“Fences,” written by one of the country’s foremost playwrights, the late August Wilson, opens March 29 and runs through April 21.

WHERE: The Science Center is

located at 4801 Dreher Trail North in West Palm Beach.

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HOURS: Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Bargains abound at WPB Fishing Club’s annual yard sale

The event, set for Saturday, April 13, will feature tons of used items for sale including fishing rods and reels, gaffs, fly fishing tackle, diving gear and a whole lot more.

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Record turn out supports Peggy Adams’ annual walk More than 1,800 people and their pets gathered for Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League’s 18th Annual Walk for the Animals in February.

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Mayor Muoio’s tenure marked by accomplishments

Palms West Monthly columnist Aaron Wormus takes a look back at West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio’s eight years in office, and the legacy she leaves behind.

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COST: Included with admission,

which is $17.95 for adults; $15.95 for seniors; $13.95 for children ages 3-12 and free for kids under 3. Photo courtesy of South Florida Science Center

Tia Duhaney, 15, of Royal Palm Beach, controls a prosthetic hand using electrical signals traveling from her brain at the BrainMachine Interface at South Florida Science Center’s new permanent exhibit, “Journey Through the Human Brain.” By RON HAYES Palms West Monthly

WEST PALM BEACH — You may know your own mind, but do you know your own brain? Three years ago, the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium decided to help you get acquainted. Now, $2.5 million later, a new, 2,500-squarefoot wing is open and eager to lead you on a “Journey Through The Human Brain.” “You’ll explore the function of the human brain and how it controls our thoughts and emotions,” Science Center president Lew Crampton promises. “A lot of information is going to be presented to you in ways both engaging and memorable. This is the most advanced exhibit on the human brain at any museum in the world.”

Developing the new exhibit was entrusted to the best brains around. To get it right, the museum partnered with Dr. Randy Blakely, a professor of biomedical science and executive director of the Florida Atlantic University Brain Institute, with help from the Max Planck and Scripps Research institutes of Florida. “This exhibit will pull back the curtain on the brain,” Dr. Blakely told a large crowd waiting to explore the exhibit on opening day, Wednesday, March 13. “And I hope you will come away awed and hopefully wanting to be a nerve scientist of the future. We’ve made tremendous progress in cancer research, but brain disorders are tough and complicated.” Now let’s step inside and dis-

cover why “the most complex structure in the universe” has been riding between your ears all this time. At the entrance, you’ll pass through a curtain of fine mist on which a high resolution image of the human brain has been projected. The effect is amazing, amusing and almost as startling as what comes next. Just to your left is a human brain and spinal cord, which together make up the central nervous system – the true software of your life. This is not one of those plastic, Visible Man body parts you put together with airplane glue in eighth grade. This is a real human brain and spinal cord, preserved through a monthslong process called plastination. And yes, it’s probably smaller

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Go online to sfsciencecenter.org or call (561) 832-1988.

than you would have guessed. The human brain takes up only about 2.1 percent of our bodies. Venture further and you’ll find 30 interactive exhibits, with something to entertain and inform both children and adults. “This is a bit of a risk for us,” Crampton concedes. “We’re known as a children’s museum. Now our goal is to broaden our audience. And so you’ll find Deep Dive, a sophisticated exhibit that lets visitors use a joystick and touchscreen control panel to navigate the brain at multiple levels. In other words, you venture ever deeper into a brain, from the macroscopic to microscopic levels. And you’re looking at real brain imaging here, projected BRAIN EXHIBIT / PAGE 9

Know the dos and don’ts of sea turtle nesting season Sea turtle nesting season runs until Oct. 31, so let’s pay extra attention to our beaches. Sea turtle nesting season officially kicked off on March 1 in Palm Beach County. That’s when the folks at Loggerhead Marinelife Center really get busy. Researchers there monitor a nine-and-a-half-mile stretch of beach ranging from the north Palm Beach County line in Jupiter Island south to the northern border of John D. MacArthur Beach State Park.

Last year, the Marinelife Center documented more than 11,900 nests on that stretch. That’s about one nest every four feet – and comprises approximately five percent of the world’s total loggerhead sea turtle nests. The Marinelife Center has put out a list of dos and don’ts to help ensure the safety of nesting females and hatchlings during the season. These include:

 Do throw away debris left behind on the beach;  Do fill in holes in the sand, knock down sand castles and remove foreign objects that may obstruct a sea turtle’s path to and from the ocean;  If you come across a nesting sea turtle, observe at a distance from behind.  Don’t harm or harass sea

turtles, their nests or hatchlings.  Don’t interact with or disrupt a nesting sea turtle – it’s illegal!  Don’t touch hatchlings on their way to the ocean. For the complete list, go online to marinelife.org/ seaturtles/research/nesting. “We invite our community to join in our efforts to keep our local sea turtle nesting beaches cleaner and darker during nesting season,” says Jack Lighton, the center’s president and CEO. 


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