Mia Lane's Psychology and Neuroscience Camp at American University

We began the official program with a "neurotransmitter scavenger hunt,” after a lecture on a few different and prevalent types of neurotransmitters from the program manager. We hunted around in small packs, hot and sweaty during the heatwave, figuring out obscure and obvious clues alike. Throughout the week, we enjoyed a healthy balance between education and socializing. We were lucky to receive three lectures from a neuroscience professor at AU, who taught us about the chemical, genetic, and physical side of the brain, while our lovely TAs gave us bite-sized lectures on different types of psychology in their area of interest. We also heard from numerous guest speakers, who ranged in expertise and experience, from a yogi to a clinical social worker, to a play therapist, to a forensic psychologist.  We enjoyed lots and lots of field trips to different psychology and medical centers in the DC area, such as the NIH/NINDS and the Chicago School of Psychology, to name a few favorites. There, we heard from more speakers and experts, and even got to take tours of labs, hospitals, and more. But we also got a healthy amount of social time, whether that be through a Dyadic Encounter, a designated social hour, or a field trip to the DC mall or Georgetown.