Be Cool is a project of the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) Foundation. The mission of the Foundation is to educate the public about issues related to brain health, brain functioning, and brain disease. This presentation will describe the NAN Foundation’s Be Cool presentations and our recent efforts to update and broaden the materials to reach a more diverse audience.

Created in 2007, Be Cool was developed to educate school children about the brain and neuropsychology. There are two sets of presentations: one for children in grades 1-3, and another for those in grades 4-6. The materials are free, and designed to be presented by clinical neuropsychologists in public elementary schools. Activities and open discussions follow the slide show. Several years ago, we updated the materials and adapted them for easy use with remote learning. We are currently in the process of partnering with the Cultural Neuropsychology Council to further update and expand our materials to reach a broader and more diverse audience.

Neuropsychologists have presented Be Cool in every region of the country. Thousands of school children have been reached by the presentations. Indicators from qualitative feedback about the project collected from teachers and students demonstrates overwhelmingly positive satisfaction ratings.

Be Cool has been a successful program for educating young children about the brain and our field. Directions for future growth include expand ling the age range of participants, more specific targeting of underserved areas of the country, and will revamping the materials to represent and be inclusive of an even more diverse audience. We plan to redouble our efforts to inspire and excite school-age children about learning about their growing brains and minds, and to introduce neuropsychology as a potential field of study.