Where is NW Noggin?
NW Noggin is a locally sourced, 501(c)(3) ALL-VOLUNTEER shoestring nonprofit organization. Your tax-deductible contribution supports the purchase of sheep brains, pipe cleaners, electrodes and clay for innovative, arts-integrated outreach, and helps send volunteers from local universities (including Portland State University, OHSU, and other area institutions) to public school classrooms, conferences and free community events.
DONATE HERE!
LEARN MORE: Community Neuroscience: How to Build an Outreach Organization
NW Noggin: Art + Brains
Noggin @ Velo Cult: Balance v. Stress!
Nurturing Noggin Nodes @ OHSU
Sweetness, Shelter & Savants
Join us in Chile in 2025!
LEARN MORE: LAS NEURONAS SON BACANES.
Everything but guns
“Morning comes whether you set the alarm or not” ― Ursula LeGuin High schoolers, teachers, staff and our brain-obsessed NW Noggin volunteers awoke before dawn on a cool, crisp December morning, all headed to David Douglas High School. David Douglas, named after a 19th century botanist from Scotland (and the…
Lakeside sits a ship
Post by Madison Cho-Richmond, undergraduate at Portland State University and NW Noggin outreach volunteer McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois was my boat for the week, offering waves of research posters, eddies of sciart, and strong currents of inspired neuroscience researchers and students like me. It’s a carnival cruise for the…
Being there means something
Post by Drew Sinclair, undergraduate student veteran at Portland State University and NW Noggin outreach volunteer Brains use energy Our brains require a lot of energy. Navigating, remembering, making decisions, responding to circumstances requires the coordinated activity of networks of linked brain regions, and the burning of sugar (glucose) to…
Memory, Poetry, Brains
Post written by New/Mixed media artist Kit S. Carlton & Ph.D. candidate Sydney Boutros from Behavioral Neuroscience at OHSU Noggin Talks are back! The crowd buzzed in anticipation of the night’s presentation, glasses clinked, murmurs echoed throughout the room, the enthusiasm fully palpable as NW Noggin’s Old Town Talks settled…
What about the glia?
“Look for the helpers.” –Fred Rogers Neurons get the limelight, typically, in college textbooks, courses and even quite often in pipe cleaner form – but there are billions of non-neural cells that contribute to our brain’s cellular community – the glia! LEARN MORE: Glia as architects of central nervous system…
Freedom @ Shahala
Nicotine is a gateway drug
“So why are some legal drugs (like nicotine and alcohol) and prescribed medications (like opioids) MORE DANGEROUS for healthy brains than some illegal drugs like LSD and marijuana?” We arrived at p:ear this month to find one young woman who was clearly anxious and jittery, irritated and upset – because…
Reflections on Chicago
Post by NW Noggin participants Mikah Brandes, Camden Howard, Maria Galvan-Bravo, Aaron Eisen, Sai Kiersarsky, undergraduates (and one recent graduate) of Portland State University. “We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community…Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs…
Popping off (& pot) @ p:ear
“Everything that drowned me taught me how to swim.” ― Jenim Dibie Brains, art & research: November is NOGGIN MONTH at p:ear! We are always thrilled to return to this essential, welcoming community space, replete with good food, terrific art, and curious young people facing extreme life circumstances, including an unconscionable…
Noggins in CHICAGO!
We did it! NW Noggin collaborated with the Society for Social Neuroscience on their first ever Social Neuroscience Fair! Outreach Event for First University of Chicago Social Neuroscience Fair We examined real human brains, created art, explored electrophysiology, discussed neuroscience research, and listened and learned at the Chicago Museum of Science and…
Synapsing in San Diego
“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.” ―Maya Angelou.
Our AMAZING volunteers organized the largest all ages Art & Neuroscience Festival in the Pacific Northwest! We offered live bands, science-inspired art, neuroscience research presentations, and the chance to ask questions and examine real brains! The fifth annual Noggin Fest helped send more young scientists and artists to the Society for Neuroscience conference in San Diego - and into San Diego Unified Public Schools! LEARN MORE @ Brains Beyond SfN!.