Imagine that - brain science with Sarah Macdonald and Max Gambale

Creative Science for Kids

It’s time to fire up the mind with five fun and fascinating fast facts about imagination, plus some questions for Sarah Macdonald and Max Gambale, two creative people with interesting imaginations, and a visualisation and drawing activity for you to try yourself at home.

Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda Sercombe. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.

Creative Science: https://www.creativescience.com.au

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Episode content:

00:00 Introduction and fast facts

03:43 Deep dive into aphantasia

04:30 Interview with Sarah Macdonald and Max Gambale

10:09 Visualisation and drawing activity

Visualisation and drawing activity instructions:

You will need: two pieces of paper, coloured pencils, and a banana. You don’t have to use a banana, but you will need an object that has a familiar shape and that is not too complicated to draw.

1. Hide the banana so you cannot look at it while you draw. In your mind’s eye, picture a banana in as much detail as possible. If you have aphantasia, you might be thinking of the idea of a banana and the concept that it is yellow, or maybe a bit green, and that it has a curved shape.
2. Draw a picture of the banana you are thinking about. Take your time to draw as much detail as possible. When you have finished your drawing, turn the paper over so you can’t see the picture.
3. Take the banana out of its hiding place, put it down in front of you, and look at it very carefully. Look at the colour and shape of the banana. Can you see any shadows on the banana and any markings on the skin?
4. Draw a picture of the banana and look at the real banana as many times as you like to try to make your drawing as realistic as possible.
5. When you have finished drawing the real banana, turn over the first drawing and compare your two pictures. Did you find it easier to draw a picture of a banana when you could see the real banana? Or did you find it difficult to draw all of the details?

When we picture a banana in our mind, we often see a simple image of a curved yellow shape, and maybe some black spots. Looking at a real banana reveals many details that we might not imagine in our mind. To draw a realistic picture, it also takes a lot of practice and skill to make an accurate drawing of what we are observing with our eyes.