Experience report: APAE students' visit to the "Getting to know the Brain 2015" Event

People are increasingly interested in Neuroscience themes, which feature in magazine covers and are present in mediatic news items, films and even commercial products at times. Given that, neuroscientific promotion is useful both to help people be (neuro)scientifically literate and to adequately spread such discoveries to them. In such context, the "Getting to Know the Brain" event, which belongs in the National Week of Science and Technology, aims to promote neuroscience by means of science fairs, playful and artistic activities, and experiments exhibited to the audience, including a visiting period for children with special needs brought by the Associations of Parents and Friends of Children with Special Needs (APAEs). This paper therefore aimed to report the experiences shared by this target audience in the event, with an emphasis on social interaction. As a result, two APAEs visited the event twice. In an attractive, playful and practical fashion, it was possible to promote neurosciences to the APAE students, who interacted with the staff and told their teachers that they liked the activities. The teachers found the activity enriching, and the event monitors/exhibitors enjoyed the experience. It is concluded that science promoting activities must include disabled people, who are often marginalized by non-inclusive actions, thus making the differences more explicit.