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		Stimulate your mind this weekend with Science Alive and Silicon Valley's Puzzle Day.

This Super Bowl weekend, South Valley residents will not only be entertained by the annual barrage of TV ads occasionally interrupted by a football game, we'll also have the option of enjoying two mind-expanding local events - the Science Alive program on Saturday and the Silicon Valley Puzzle Day extravaganza on Sunday

You might think it's brains versus brawn this weekend here in the South Valley, but I'd like to suggest it's entirely about brains. Yes, of course, the football game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots involves a lot of extremely large men pounding each other for possession of an extremely odd-looking leather ball. But the essence of the game - 90 percent of any sport really - is in the mind.

Like chess, football is really a game about strategy. It's about finding the best method to move the ball forward to your goal, thereby gaining points and making the crowd cheer. And strategy means making the most of the cerebral cortex, that part of the brain that can analyze a situation and make a quick decision to create an intended outcome.

So now you see how the Science Alive and Silicon Valley Puzzle Day relate to the Super Bowl. All three would not be possible if humans couldn't use the highly developed regions of their brains.

To stimulate the highly developed regions of your own brain, I'd like to do a bit of marketing to promote Science Alive and Silicon Valley Puzzle Day. After all, if the Super Bowl can give us a blitz of commercials, I think it's only fair to advertise these two fun-filled South Valley events. (Also, I'm in charge of publicity for Puzzle Day, so it's my job to get lots of folks to show up for it at the Morgan Hill Public Library Sunday.)

Saturday's Science Alive is a conference sponsored by Gavilan Community College to encourage budding young Einsteins to exercise their curiosity with hands-on science-oriented activities. It's focused on youngsters between sixth and eighth grade, but their parents can participate too. It involves kids having fun at various workshops where they can discover the wonders of the natural world. More importantly, it's about getting these folks to expand their minds. Just ask Hope Jukl, a Gavilan math instructor who serves as co-director of the Science Alive event.

"There's one (workshop) in making gas, and one where they dissect a lamb's heart, and we have them do CSI investigations," Jukl told me during a recent phone chat. "We're hoping to peak their interest in science by giving them some hands-on experience with professionals in the field who are very enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge. We're hoping to turn kids on to science."

Puzzle Day is an event that's free to the entire public and hosted by the Friends of the Morgan Hill Library. It's focused on bringing together crossword puzzle and Sudoku fans from around the Bay Area who want to enjoy an afternoon playing against each other in word and number games. More importantly, it's about getting these folks to expand their minds. Just ask Emily Shem-Tov, an Adobe Systems employee who serves as co-chair of the event.

"I think this is a great way to build the neurons of the brain," Shem-Tov emailed me. "Most of us just do puzzles because they're fun, challenging and a nice escape from the day's stresses - but it's great to know that studies keep finding out more about the long term brain benefits of doing them. Some studies have pointed out that it's not just doing the mental activities but getting together with other people that is important to keeping us sharp and even warding off the onset of dementia."

Despite the bulk and physical power of Super Bowl football players you'll see Sunday, human beings as a species really can't compare physically with other animals. It's our brain power, however, that lets us to survive and thrive. So, if you have some time this weekend before the opening kickoff, put your cerebral cortex into gear and spend some time building up your brainpower with science activities or puzzle games.

Science Alive will be held Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Gavilan College, 5055 Santa Teresa Blvd., Gilroy. If your child wants to attend, register online at www.gavilan.educ/science/alive or call (408) 846-4947. There's a fee. Silicon Valley Puzzle Day will be held Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Morgan Hill Public Library. The event is free and open to people of all ages.

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Martin Cheek Marty Cheek is the author of 'The Silicon Valley Handbook.' His column appears every other Friday. You can reach him at martych@gte.net.

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