A massive dome installed inside the Yukon University gymnasium is used as a fascinating teaching tool that provides a unique experience for northern children.
When students enter the 44-foot structure, they are immersed in “The Brain,” a 60-minute video projection mapped onto a 360-degree dome.
“It felt like you were actually inside your brain, which was cool,” said Erykah Cletheroe-Blackjack, one of dozens of students getting the chance to experience it.
The program takes young people through a history of the human brain, from creation to adult development. They learn how their brain reacts to junk food, TikTok videos, toxic stress, and most importantly, drugs.
“It talks about opioids, where they come from and the impact they have on the brain. And then it talks about what can happen when you ingest those types of substances,” said Tosh Southwick, co-founder of IRP Consulting. She played a pivotal role in the creation and development of the program.
More than fried eggs
“When I was a kid, there was a big anti-drug campaign, (called) ‘This is Your Brain on Drugs,’ and they fried an egg in a frying pan and that was it,” Southwick said.
By contrast, The Brain provides “a physiological representation of walking through your neurons, your synapses, and your different hormones, all these different parts of the brain,” he said.
Southwick comes from the Kluane First Nation and is a member of the Wolf Clan. She is an active community leader and mother, and says it was important for her to see a different type of education in her community.
“We need every solution we can try,” said Southwick, who described a moment 18 months ago when he held his breath every time his phone rang for fear of “who we’ll lose next.”
She says her community has faced numerous deaths from the supply of toxic drugs. At one point last year, Yukon faced Canada’s worst toxic drug death rate.
Southwick says The Brain was a true collaboration, citing Kelly Proudfoot of Firecracker Strategies as another community member and concerned mother who wanted to improve children’s education.
More than a dozen organizations, along with educators, health units and medical experts formed a collective to research and draft a script and visuals to create the immersive experience.
“Most people lie down to experience the dome and it takes them 10 to 15 minutes to come back to reality,” said Paul Magnuson, “Head of Imagination” for Big Art, the company behind the dome.
“So the emotional side is amazing.”
Audience members lay on the floor to watch ‘The Brain’, a 360-degree video projection projected onto a large dome. (Image courtesy of Kelly Proudfoot)
The goal is to reach teenagers and leave a lasting impression.
“No boy from 12 to 18 years old is going to remember everything we tell them in 60 minutes. But you will remember the experience and the way he made you feel, and that is more important than anything else,” Magnuson said.
Experiencing 360-degree projection and learning about the technology is also part of the experience for students in Whitehorse and surrounding communities.
“We live up north and our kids miss things, like planetariums or IMAX theaters, or all those technology-driven things,” Southwick said.
The Brain incorporates elements of indigenous culture, traditional teachings and aspects of life in the north.
“As artists, we found a way to communicate some of the world’s problems. I think we’ve done a great job of giving these young people an experience that resonates and is relevant,” Magnuson said.
The program also focuses on healing, offering tools to youth on how to avoid stress, where to get community support for drug addiction, and lessons from elders.
“These are difficult conversations,” Southwick said. Then, “let’s bring you back and (learn) what happens when you play drums, what happens when you’re on land, fishing.”
For many Whitehorse community leaders, there is no more urgent conversation right now than the toxic drug crisis.
If the project “shows a young person what happens in the brain if they take a substance, that’s a win for me,” Southwick said. “If we give them factual information, if their teachers have more knowledge to be able to support them, there will be one less chance that we will have someone else to care for and support their family while they grieve.”
“The Brain” will be in Whitehorse for two weeks. Discussions are underway to determine where else it could set up shop in Canada.